


Love Comes Face To Face

by BreG21



Series: Love Square Month [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Identity Reveal, Just two teenagers falling even more in love and being dorks, No Angst, Post-Reveal Love Square, eventual identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-04-07 08:45:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 48,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19081558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreG21/pseuds/BreG21
Summary: For Ladrien June. One kiss was all it took to spark a flame. Let's see where this fire takes the criss-cross love birds.





	1. Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy! (This is cross-posted on FFN.net under my user name:breakingdawn77)

She hadn't meant to do it— okay, that was a lie, she always wanted to kiss Adrien, but not like this— it had been pure adrenaline from the fight.

Chat had yet to show up, and amongst all the fighting, people yelling, and general destruction of the city, Ladybug had noticed Adrien being pulled along by his bodyguard trying to protect him. But she could tell that with all the chaos, so it was just easier said than done.

So, with the akuma momentarily distracted by a few cars— its superpowers being to destroy all mechanical vehicles, she wasn't sure why— she swooped in, grabbing the model and swinging him away to hide him someplace safe.

It only took two minutes to find a safe hideaway. Their feet barely touch the ground before he's giving her praise. "Thanks, Ladybug. It was really crazy back there."

She nodded, trying her best to keep the blush at bay, failing miserably.

He was just so cute with those gleaming glittery green eyes, the soft smile that made her insides want to melt— along with her brain— his kind and gentle nature, and the way that he just cared about his friends so deeply. He was just so amazin-

Wait, where was she again?

Oh, right. In the middle of a battle, saving her crush. Shoot. From the way he was staring at her, she could see the worry slowly start to take hold. She had been strong for way too long.

Had…. had he been talking?

"Um." She punched at her chest to get some sort of air flow going through her lungs. Maybe she'd actually make a proper sentence. "Sorry about that. Lost in thought. Anyways, were you saying something?"

What she didn't expect, was his own face to become flushed in red, outshining her own suit in the color. His hand flew to the back of his neck to rub. "Yeah, just wanted to say thank you, Ladybug. You do a lot for us and don't get near enough credit. So, thank you." That soft smile grew into a larger grin as he aimed it at her.

She choked, and sputtered. "O-of fource— I mean course, of course. It's mine and Chat's duty to protect the city. We're happy to do it. And I wouldn't be anywhere without my partner."

If possible, his shade of red took on a whole new hue, and dang it, he absolutely needed to _stop_ before her heart did.

"I'm serious, though, Ladybug." Her heart pounded in her ears as he grasped her hands, demanding her eyes meet his in full sincerity. His voice small, but was meaningful. "Thank you. I don't think I could ever say it enough for saving Paris. For saving me."

That! That was the final crack in the dam. Because there was just something in the way he said that-like his words had a much heavier meaning than he was letting on. Before she could even think, the water had burst through. She practically lunged forward, breaking their hands apart to cup his jaw instead, wishing beyond hope that she just could feel his actual touch in her hands, but knew for now that she couldn't.

Her lips connected to his and every live wire on every nerve in her body began to sing in harmony with his heartbeat. Her brain echoing with epic battle cries of soldiers who had finally won a long and hard battle. Everything felt right with this. With his lips against hers, it felt whole. Like, in a way she never imagen how kissing Adrien would feel, but it being better than any wild fantasy she could even come close to.

It took Adrien a long minute to realize that her lips were even on his before he started responding.

But boy, when he did, Ladybug thought her legs might actually give out underneath her. If it weren't for the fact that the second her knees actually started to wobble, Adrien's arms swooped in and wrapped around her waist.

She was _dead,_ she had to be, because this could not possibly be happening in reality.

The best part of it was when he tilted his head just a tiny bit to get a better angle, causing the kiss to deepen even further. She was sure he nibbled on her bottom lip, but couldn't be sure, because all she could taste, feel, smell was Adrien, and if she wasn't gonna enjoy it, then she'd have lost her mind at this point.

She may have even gasped a little, but his own lips caught the little sound, so honestly, there was no real proof to that. Nope, _none._

The boom from an Akuma was what brought her out of the kiss as she broke away, panting for new air. "Go." She said before blinking her eyes back into focus. "I-I gotta go."

Goodness, help her, Adrien's face was just everything life had to offer. With his dazed eyes and toothy crooked grin that he didn't even seem to know was there as his gaze looked at nothing through his trance. His lips were swollen and red because of her. That was her favorite.

Was he trying to kill her? Was he swooning because of her!?

She didn't really care at that moment.

With his lack of response, she coughed a little to try to retain his attention, but it did little to help her cause. "So, yeah." Still nothing from the blond. "Stay there. I'll be back after the akuma."

His daze broke at the word akuma and he came back to life. He nodded along to her command. "I'll uh… I'll be here when you get back." His hoarse voice almost made her a goner.

As she turned to swing off, her heart fluttered once more. Because if she hadn't known better, she could've sworn she saw a hint of mischief sprawled on his lips. It was different, something she never really saw on his face.

She couldn't deny that she liked it.

A lot.


	2. Famous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you guys like this next part. It takes place shortly after the first chapter.

As much as he had hoped she would, she didn’t stop by for a late visit that night. Nor did she the next night, or the night after that.

Adrien was beginning to lose hope after almost a week rolled by without a single knock or thud from her landing. He should've known this would happen. After all, it was only one kiss, and apparently, she already had someone she was looking at. In the end, Ladybug just didn’t like him. The kiss had to be a heat of the moment thing.

That didn’t make it hurt any less.

But that was the thing about hope, just when you think it’s over, something, well, miraculous happened.

This was one of those times.

His eyes snapped open from his sorrow filled thoughts as he heard a soft tap to his wall length windows.

He bolted straight up, causing Plagg to fall from his sleeping spot on his chest, the little creature rubbing his head from the tiny fall. “Kid, what gives? I was asleep.”

Adrien looked, and sure enough, his hopes were right. She was there, Ladybug was there.

“Plagg, you gotta hide. Now.”

His kwami peeked over and saw what he had, zipping over to his usual home in the garbage can.

Jumping out of his bed, Adrien scurried across the room to push open his window. Ladybug was there, she was actually there! Standing just outside his room her outline casted by the magnificent moonlight. He felt as though he couldn’t even breath.

“Lady-Ladybug. H-hello. What brings you by so late at night?”

* * *

It’s never too late for you. You can come by at twelve, five, or four in the morning. Stay the night if you’d like.

Not that he’d actually ever say that outloud.

“I-I wanted to talk.” Her eyes went to her feet as she avoided his stare. “About what happened earlier in the week.”

Adrien knew the heat had returned to his cheeks, and he bit the inside of his mouth to try to retain some of the blush. To help focus. It didn’t do much. “Sure, sure. Come in, make yourself at home.”

Could this be your home?

Stop brain. She likes someone else. That kiss was just a fluke.

She did as he invited her to do, jumping from the ledge and making her way across the room to his couch with tentative steps, almost like she was nervous to be in his room.

Hmmm. That was… interesting, to say the least.

Once she plopped herself on the couch, he joined her, making sure to keep enough distance in respect, but also close enough to her to show that he wanted her here. That she wasn’t unwelcomed.

“So,” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, but just loud enough to reach his ears. “I should apologize about that kiss earlier. I shouldn’t have forced myself onto you like that. It was wrong of me.”

Astounded by her apology, his mouth opened, and then closed, repeating the action a couple times as he fumbled to find the words. “Ladybug, no! You didn’t do anything I didn't want you to do.”

Apparently, it was her turn to be shocked. Her skin burst into scarlet, her eyes bulging from their place. Her knee started to do a little bounce and it only made his heart soar. “Say’d you what? I-I mean, what’d you just say?”

He laughed, but it was more air than noise at this point. Placing a hand on her shoulders, he begged her to keep his eyes. “Ladybug, I didn’t mind that kiss at all. In fact… I really enjoyed it. Wouldn’t mind if we did that again, actually.”

She stared, feeling the slight tremble in his hands. Then stared some more. Then continued to do so for the next few minutes.

It was to the point where he had honestly thought he had broken her until she let a little whine— almost like a tea kettle that was done boiling— pass through her kissable lips. For having Pagg as his kwami, he sure was lucky.

She buried her face in her hands. “You can’t just say those kinds of things to me.” Her voice was muffled somewhat by her hands, but he caught the jist of it.

Sorry?

“Sorry…?” This time it was spoken out loud, but he was unsure if that was the right thing to even say.

She sighed, but removed her hands from her face. “You don’t have to be sorry. “I’m… I’m glad you like me. That explains why you don’t like… well, me.” She gestured to herself and then paused before adding. “Not that I’m saying I’m two different people or anything. But this would’ve been so much easier as…” She looked away for a brief moment as he considered her words.

Did… did she..Did he dare hope? “Ladybug, do you like...me? Like, the girl underneath the mask?”

That same low whine made its presence known again, but stayed more in the back of her throat than anything. “Y-yes. I’ve had the biggest crush on you for a while now. Almost a year. But I don’t have the nerve to come up to you and confess. And you’re there, just so close. It shouldn’t be so hard.”

She flopped against the back of the couch, her energy spent on just thinking if he assumed correctly.

So. She liked him. Him as Adrien, and that was who she was rejecting Chat Noir for. The other boy was him. He had never been more happy and angry at the same time. Happy, because the girl of his dreams was finally reciprocating his feelings, and angry because of all the time wasted, pinning. There was also the fact that secret identities played a role in this and how could a civilian and superhero really date?

He didn’t want to waste anymore time though. He was done with it. He wanted her and she wanted him. Couldn’t they just have this? Whatever… love square thing they found themselves in, couldn’t they just be happy for once? Was it wrong to be that selfish?

That was when another thought occurred to him. “Does… does that mean I know you outside of the mask?” Because he knew his bugaboo. She wasn't one for celebrity crushes either. If she liked him, then there must be something between their civilian selves that he just didn't know.

She sat up straight, eyes locked with his before they went to her hands in her lap. She didn't voice an answer, but the silence spoke loud enough.

Oh.

He stretched out his hands, reaching to grab ahold of her hand, which she gladly accepted. “I’m sorry that I.. haven’t noticed your civilian self. I hope you do know it's not a celebrity crush or anything. My feelings for you are genuine.”

She chuckled at that, a smile finally appearing on her face. “I think if anyone would understand a celebrity crush, it'd be you. It's hard to be famous. Trust me, I’m ecstatic that you have feelings for me. I never knew you had a crush on this part of me.” Her free hand reached up to touch the edge of her mask for a heartbeat of a second before it fell back to her lap. “I don’t mind, really. My only problem with it is the fact that a civilian and superhero can’t really be together.”

He sighed. He knew she’d use that argument, because, honestly, a part of him understood where she was coming from. 

But he still had to try, right? “I’m not saying we jump into dating at this very second. But at least consider it? Even if it’s just us hanging out and being friends, I’ll take what I can get. We’ll get sneaky if we have to. I just don’t wanna…. Not see you.”

This time she giggled and if that sound wasn't every good thing the world was made of, then he didn’t know what was. Music couldn't compare, nothing really could. “I’ll think about it. My only other worry is the fact that we know each other in our daily lives. I feel… I feel like I’d be lying to you, day in and day out. Plus, do you know how hard it’d be to keep myself from hugging you and kissing you everytime I see you? I’d be holding so much back and still feel like I’m deceiving you.”

He understood that too. She didn’t exactly seem into Chat Noir, though maybe that was because of his civilian self. “Let’s put it into perspective. Let’s say, I’m Chat.” He held up his hands to backtrack at her shocked face. “I’m just saying this to get you into my point of view. Anyway. Let's say for this situation that I was. Would you be upset with me that I took the chance knowing you had feelings for my civilian self and not my superhero side yet?”

He could see the idea settle in her head as she thought over his words, eyes looking to the floor as she pondered the idea. “No.” Her eyes went back to his. “I wouldn’t be mad if you were, hypothetically. I think I’d actually be happy to know my partner and one of the most trustable people I know, that always stands by my side, is also my crush. I’d need to wrap my mind around it, but in the end, that’d honestly be really great.”

Adrien laced their fingers together, smiling brightly at her. “See? And that’s how I feel to you. Knowing the girl that I fell in lo-like.” The fix was too late, though, and he knew she caught it, by the way she gasped a little in surprise, but didn’t call him out on it. “Knowing the girl that I like is also a friend to me? I’m happy about that. I feel bad though, for not recognizing your feelings.”

Ladybug shrugged. “Not your fault. I’ve tried so many times to confess, but I always mess up. It would’ve been fruitless if I had though, wouldn't’ it had been?”

His smile dipped just a bit and the rest turned guilty. “Yeah, probably. I mean, I tried going out with Kagami, but it just…it, it didn't work out. All I could think about was you. She just… couldn't be you, so, I broke it off after that first date.”

Ladybug seemed…. Pretty neutral on that. She didn’t seem to react on the information that he had went on a date with a different girl. Instead, she moved just a bit closer, causing his heart rate to skyrocket. “I.. I understand. I’m not mad that you don’t look at my civilian self. I’m me, no matter what. The mask may still be a mask, but I know— my kwami likes to remind me a lot— that Ladybug comes from me. I’ve been more accepting of that as of late.”

He got that. Chat was a mask that he used for an outlet for things that he couldn't do as Adrien. But that didn’t make Adrien any less real or genuine in his actions or feelings. “For what it’s worth, your— kwami, was it? — is definitely right. I fell for the strong, amazing, outspoken girl behind the mask.”

Her blush was gonna be the death of him. He found he really didn’t mind that.

He brought her hands up to press a light kiss to her fingers, causing the girl to squeak in response to his gesture. “I… if you want me to make it home tonight, hot stuff, I’m gonna need you stop that.” 

Hot stuff? Where did that come from?

“Hot stuff?” He questioned with a gleam in his eyes.

She made the cutest eep from her mouth before taking her hands back for one to pull at her pigtail. Her eyes bouncing from every corner of the room to the other. “I should really get going.”

His stomach dropped at the idea that she was leaving, but wouldn’t push on her staying when he knew it was so late— and depending on how they knew each other, maybe she had school with him the next day.

Boy, that was gonna be hard to ignore. But he would. For her.

As she crossed the room, to the ledge of his window, jumping onto it and poised her yo-yo to swing away, he couldn’t help but ask, “So where did that nickname come from anyway?”

She winked. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

He would. He really, really would.

She was about to cast her yo yo right before he stopped her, hand loosely wrapped around the wrist that didn't have her yo-yo in hand. “Please, consider this more. I really don’t want to stop seeing you before this even really started.”

She looked out to the city below them. “I’ll think about it. In the meantime, keep your window opened.” She bent down to press a fleeting kiss to the corner of his mouth, making his heart pound in his ears. She stood up straight and determined as she turned back to the city.

With that, she swung away, disappearing in the night.

He wasn't closing his window any time soon.


	3. Couple

It was a full week before she returned. Each day was agony waiting, and it only multiplied with each passing day.

But, Marinette had to really think about everything that had been given to her. The knowledge that Adrien actually liked her back— maybe love, if his mess up was anything real— and her heart just wouldn't stop fluttering at that. She only got maybe five hours of sleep after she returned home from his place that night from tossing and turning, but it was well worth it.

Now, it had been an entire week and she knew she had to make a decision.

It was scary, getting something you truly wanted after so long.

So, calling on Tikki, she transformed, and swung off her balcony and into the night, letting her yo-yo guide her to Adrien's house.

It didn't take long, not even five minutes, before she was knocking on the glass of his bedroom window. He was in his desk chair, scrolling on the ladyblog— was he always on it? Was it because of her? — and the instant he heard the tap, he swiveled around to greet her as she pushed past and into his room.

The grin that parted his lips reached and shone in his eyes as he frantically tried to exit the page on his browser causing Ladybug to bite her lip to keep herself from screeching at his lovestruck face.

Deep breaths, deep breaths

"Ladybug." his voice was laced with sleepiness and a bit of guilt bubbled in her chest thinking that she was probably the cause, seeing as she took a while to come to a decision. "You came."

She smiled at the relief in his tone. He'd obviously thought that she was gonna chicken out.

If only he could understand how much she had wanted this. She'd never leave Adrien hanging like that. Even if she said no for now, until Hawkmoth was defeated, she'd still give him an answer.

And she was gonna give him an answer. After an internal battle for days, talking with Tikki, with Master Fu, she had finally come to a decision.

Now if only the boy in front of her would just stop looking at her like that— like she was everything— so she could properly collect her thoughts.

Although, if she was being honest, she didn't mind him staring at her like that. She quite liked the idea of being the center of his whole world. It made her knees tremble at the mere thought, really.

So, yes, please keep looking like that. Just make sure to catch her when she fell from the sheer shock of it all.

Realizing she hadn't greeted him back, she offered her own little, "Hey." Accompanied by a weak, awkward wave. But that only seemed to bring out the giddy in him.

She jumped from her perch, landing with a soft thud on his hardwood floor, and crossed the room in several strides to stand just a few feet away. He nodded towards the couch to take a seat, and she easily took the invite.

"Um, so what brings you by?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he hastened to tack on, "Not that it isn't pleasant to see you. I'm always happy to see you. You're always welcomed, it's just unexpected, seeing as it's been a week… already..and yeah, I'm gonna shut up now."

She stifled her giggles behind her hands, but the laughter could still be heard. "Well, I've been giving it some thought, heavy thought. I've talked to my kwami, along with the person that gave me my miraculous in the first place, and they've both gave me the good and the bad reasons that could come up with us dating."

Adrien nodded, slumping in his chair as he slowly moved back in forth, it seemed as if it was a nervous twitch more or less. "Did they say what you should do?"

She shook her head. "No. They gave me the pros and cons of our relationship, but both agreed that it was my choice to make. That they trusted that I knew what I was doing and what I was getting myself into if you and I were to start dating."

His weight shifted at the word dating and he sat straighter. "Is… is that you saying… you're willing to give us a chance?" His words were leaking with hope and oh, it hit her heart just right and she had to keep herself from marching over to his chair and pull him into a bruising, breathtaking kiss that would leave them both without air for a few hours.

She paused for a nanosecond, contemplating all her thoughts that led her here. "Maybe…." She paused, with a sneaky smirk, as if to torture him, and if she was being truthful, she reveled in that. "Yes."

He jumped from his seat, fist pumping the air as he whooped. Then he was grabbing her, pulling her into an embrace, chest to chest, breath mingling with one another as his green eyes found her blues.

His lips were not even an inch away— she could feel the lightest touch against hers— before she put a finger between them.

"But." Disappointment flashed across his eyes, but only pulled back enough for her to talk, while still being locked in his arms. Though locked wasn't exactly the accurate word to describe it. She loved being in his arms. "But, there are rules we have to follow with this; rule one: Nobody can know about this. No one."

Adrien nodded, eyes determined to show that he was listening and willing to go along with what she was saying.

"Second." She tapped a finger to his nose. "We can't communicate during the day. I'll drop by at night as much as I can, but understand that it won't be every night; as much as both of us want that. Dates will have to be in this room and this room alone."

He pouted, but once again nodded. She wanted to take that bottom lip and nibble it. Kiss it away. But she had to set ground rules before this went on. This took priority.

"Third and final rule. Well, half rule, half request. The rule part is, you can't ask for my identity. Trust me, I want you to know, and as horrible as this may sound, if I tell anyone my identity, I would tell Chat first." His eyes bulged at that, some weird emotion that almost resembled happiness ran across. "That's not to say he's better than you or anything bad. But he's my partner in fighting. He deserves to know first. But I'll be running to you the second after."

He smiled easy enough. Like he didn't mind that she would tell Chat first. "Kay."

"The request part of the third rule is, that you know I'm a friend outside of the mask. It's pretty obvious now. I know you won't be disappointed by who I am, because you love me. But what I ask is that you seriously take this into account, we know each other. I see you a lot. I know that's tempting information, but please don't purposely look for me. If you find out accidentally, then we cross that bridge when we come to it, but we have to try to keep my identity a secret. You'll have to live with that, knowing that anyone you talk to, you could be talking to me...is..is that okay? Y-you get that, right?"

His eyes were firm. "I do. I understand. No looking."

She was so thankful for that. "I'm not trying to sway you away from dating me, but it's a serious matter with us. There are gonna be days where I'm gonna be a little extra worried about basically lying to you. There're gonna be days where I'm just a bit sadder because I couldn't kiss you or hug you. Along with that, after you do find out who I am, I'd appreciate it if you talked through with what you're thinking about, okay?"

He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "I promise. I'll sit with you and talk to you all night long and let you know what I'm feeling once I find out. And when there are days you're down because you couldn't give me any affection like you wanted throughout the day, I'll have the window open and extra cuddles and kisses ready just for you."

And there were the waterworks as her heart fluttered with the unbridled joy dancing in his eyes, causing a domino effect in her heart, and gosh darn it. He was hers now. A year of waiting, pinning, and he was hers, no holding back anymore. That just felt good and right. Hers for keeping.

"Well." The tip of her tongue darted to swipe across her dry lips. "If… if you're still up for it, if you understand the circumstances, and ar-are willing to, do you have something to ask me..?"

He looked absolutely delighted. Did he know what he did to her? What he made her feel? Did he do it on purpose? Questions to file away for later. "Ladybug, will you please be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

He pulled her back into his personal space, with very little distance between them. Her lungs were almost empty of air, but she couldn't seem to care at that particular second. Not with the boy of her dreams looking at her like that.

Her eyes drifted to his lips and with what little air she did have, her breathing sped up, coming out in short little pants as every fantasy she had ran crazy through her head for months finally started to seem in reach. The fluttering in her heart kicked into overdrive from the hazy look in his gaze. One filled with love, admiration, and pure awe.

She still wanted to bite that lower lip even though it isn't in a pout.

His voice had just a touch of huskiness. "Is there anymore request or rules that I should know about?"

Just kill her now. "Only one."

His smile turned uneven. "Oh?" He brought his nose just a hair breath away. His eyes sparkled with an idea in mind and she knew that he knew what she already wanted.

"Kiss me."


	4. Model

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost 1 and I'm exhausted. Thankfully, tomorrow I have off from work, so I don't have to worry about getting the chapter done late! Woot woot!

They were cuddled up on the couch, him on his back with her snuggled on his chest. His hands were mindlessly running along the strands of her hair as their eyes were glued to the random movie they popped in the TV. The couple were just enjoying their date night when Adrien remembered something important he wanted to ask his girlfriend.

He wondered if she could feel his heartbeat begin to race underneath her hand whenever he thought of the word, or when he just thought of her in general. Perhaps when she simply just touches him and he melts into a puddle of gooey camembert. How her mere presence just affected him in such a way that he just could not comprehend?

"Adrien, are you okay?"

Oh, wait, what was he saying again? "Uh, huh?"

She giggled at his mumbled words, lifting her head off of his chest, she looked up to his gaze."You looked like you were about to say something, but then your heartbeat picked up. Are you alright?"

No, no he wasn't. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to be again.

But he couldn't very well tell her that, so instead, he said, "Yeah. Just some things on my mind. I actually need to talk to you about something." He went for the remote and pressed the pause button to talk to her.

"Okay..?" She said wearily as she moved to sit up, hands clasped in her lap as she eyed him cautiously.

He was quick to reassure her. "Nothing bad," He watched as her shoulders drooped, as she exhaled some air she had been holding in. "Just...a question."

The suspicion returned almost instantly. Her mouth dipped into a frown and he wanted to kiss it away. "Nothing identity, right?"

He shook his head. "Of course not." Her shoulders relaxed once more. "Next weekend is fashion week, and I'm running the catwalk for my father's new line, and while I won't be able to know it's you, and I swear, I won't guess or look for you, I was wondering if you'd be willing to go? You can go yourself and just be in the croward. I won't be any wiser than if you were just another person there."

She threw her head back and laughed before scootching back into his personal space— not even two weeks of dating and Adrien found they couldn't go five minutes without touching, her hand just holding his could make everything in the day worth it— "I trust you, Adrien. Plus, I already planned on going. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't go to support you?"

He shrugged. "An understandable one. We always have to be cautious and I'd understand if you didn't want to risk your identity."

Her laughter was now softer, but it still rung beautifully in his ears. "I'm not worried about this one, hot stuff. I've thought over it. No worries, okay?"

Adrien leaned forward, letting his forehead fall on hers. "Okay." Like that, he handed his complete trust over to her, as he always did and would.

She titled her head just a bit to bring her lips almost to touch his, but daring him to be the one to close the gap. "Now, with that out of the way, and the movie paused, do you think there's something else you might wanna do?"

He pounced

* * *

The camera lights were blinding— as they usually were— but Adrien couldn't fight the smile, nor did he really want to.

Because somewhere out in the sea of people, was his girlfriend, his Ladybug, his bugaboo, his….lovebug.

Yeah, he was definitely gonna use that one later on.

As he strutted down the catwalk— never a bad time for a good pun— out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of Alya, Nino, and Marinette, cheering him on. He couldn't deny the boost to his ego that it brought.

A few more strides, and it was over. His eyesight was still somewhat intact from all the flashes from the camera, but it was just something he was used to at this point. No point in complaining to father. He would probably wave him off anyway.

With the showcasing of fashion over with, Adrien went to greet his friends, wanting to thank them for showing up

The second he was in the three's line of view, they waved, motioning to hurry over.

When he finally reached them, they all pulled him into a group hug, Nino being the first to speak. "That was awesome, dude! You rocked that show!"

He chuckled. "Thanks, Nino." He looked at the girls. "I hope you guys enjoyed it as well."

With her phone in her hand, Alya faced the device forward to show the footage of the fashion show. "Of course we did! I can't wait to put this on the blog!"

Throughout Alya and Nino's excitement, he noticed Marinette staring at him, silent, but a smile lighting up her face and causing her eyes to admit happiness. "Did you have a good time too, Marinette?"

She nodded. "Definitely. I'm glad we were able to make it."

A grin of his own broke out. She had gotten through an entire sentence without stuttering, something she'd been doing better at. He was happy for all the progress.

Adrien felt a large hand grab his shoulder and caused him to turn to the Gorilla towering over him, his usual angered expression on his face. He grunted, indicating that it was time to head out.

Adrien gave a curt nod. "Would it be okay if I ran to the bathroom first?" The silent man agreed.

Turning back to his friends, he bid them his goodbyes. "That's my cue to leave, guys. See you at school." He waved and fell into step with his bodyguard for several feet before he broke off and headed into the direction of the bathroom.

His hand was on the door leading into the bathroom when a pair of hands came and cupped his eyes from behind. "Hey there, hot stuff."

Ladybug.

His lady was right behind him, detransformed. He could tell because the hands that were covering his eyes weren't wrapped in spandex. He could actually feel her hands, and that was already becoming addicting. Along with the fact that she trusted him enough to be without the mask right behind him spoke volumes to his heart.

He had to cough a couple of times to clear his throat of the large lump that had started to form. "Hey, lovebug."

She groaned, but he could tell it was in play. "Lovebug, huh? I should've seen that one coming."

He laughed. "Of course." He paused for a moment, debating on whether to ask her what was on his mind. In the end, he decided to just go for it. "Would…. Would it be okay if I turned around and kiss you? I promise I'll keep my eyes closed the entire time."

He could almost feel her thinking it over. "You promise?"

"Yes."

He could just picture her biting her lip. "Okay. But we gotta be quick. I have people waiting for me."

He did as she requested and twirled around without a second thought. His hands found her face, and then chin to tilt up as he dived down to meet her in the middle.

Her arms came around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He tried to keep the kiss tame, but it was always such a hard feat with her. He just wanted more. More kisses, more hugs, more cuddles, more dates, more time with her. Just more.

But, all good things must come to an end, and this was one of them. As they heard footsteps approaching, they broke apart. He could feel her eyes linger on him before she moved to whisper in his ear, "I loved the show. See you tonight." And like that, he was alone once more.

His eyes snapped opened as he heard the telltale signs of his bodyguard approach. When he saw Adrien with flushed cheeks, slightly swollen lips, and dazed eyes, he grunted, asking in his own way if he was alright.

Clearing his head, he affirmed that he was just fine, just tired after the show and was ready to go home.

He couldn't wait for that night.

* * *

It was a slow drawl until night, but then again, he suspected that it would be. When she finally did arrive, she almost toppled him in his chair, locking him in an iron death grip as she peppered his face with kisses.

When her kisses slowed, he couldn't help but ask with a chuckle, "What brought all this on?"

She laughed along with him. Pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, to his eyelid, anywhere she could, really. "Don't know. Just happy to see you. I really enjoyed the fashion show, and while I was able to give you a kiss, I wasn't really able to tell you what I thought."

He returned a kiss of his own just under her mouth on her chin. "Well, what'd you really think of it then?"

She pulled back, eyes sparkling with delight. "I thought you owned that cat walk. Just...don't tell Chat I said that." She shot him a wink.

Shifting herself so she sat comfortably on his lap sideways, they just relaxed there, neither of them really intending to move anytime soon.

Ladybug was the first to break the silence. "So, did you enjoy the show?"

He shrugged. "I liked it better knowing you were out there watching me."

She giggled and snuggled in closer. "You don't enjoy molding, do you?"

Once more, all he could really offer was another shrug. "It's not that I don't… enjoy it. It's just something I don't want to do for the rest of my life. It makes my dad happy, and right now, that's what I care about."

She pulled back and he was surprised to see the determination set in her stare. "What would make you happy though?"

Adrien stiffened at that, eyes blown open. He had never really thought about that. About what he wanted. What did he want for a career? He wasn't exactly sure at that moment. But something stirred deep inside knowing that she was thinking of what he wanted, that she cared that much.

"I'm… not sure. I haven't given it much thought."

She hummed, and went back into his hold. "You don't have to know at this second. Just know you do have full control over what you do and don't want in your life. Whatever you want to do, do it for you."

Hot tears may or may not have been pricking in his eyes at that. But that was only for him and him alone to know. "Thanks, lovebug."

She giggled. Oh gosh. Would he ever get tired of that sound? He sure hoped not. "Of course, hot stuff."

But that did leave him with one thought in mind.

"But what if whatever I wanted to do in life, I wanted to do it for us instead?"

The whine that steamed out of her mouth was his second favorite sound.


	5. Damsel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy! Thank you for the support!

"Son of an undercooked biscuit, where did that boy go off to this time!?"

Her frustration grew as she swung between rooftops.

Ladybug was never the one to be a damsel in distress kind of girl.

So, should it have been any shock when Adrien was the damsel? Probably not, seeing as there had been a time or two where she had to save him beforehand. But this time, oh this was just ridiculous. It seemed like every time she placed that boy someplace safe he would go running off someplace else.

Looking down she saw a white and black speck running down the road toward the Akuma. Running on instinct, she swooped down and picked up the boy, sadly gaining the attention of the Akuma in the process.

With the akuma ragging on in the background, she carried him bridal style— her fantasies always had it in the reversed roles, but hey, who was she to complain— at least she knew why he was swooning. Oh, it was fun knowing what she could do to her boyfriend just by her touch, now if only he could stay put.

The akuma was hot on their trail, and she was doing everything in her power to lose him, but nothing was working. Add that to the fact that Chat had yet to show, and Ladybug was at the end of her rope with this one.

Finally, something distracted the akuma and she was able to make her escape, boyfriend in tow. She just booked it, to afraid to look back. Where in the world was Chat!? She hoped he'd be there soon.

Ducking into an abandoned alley, she almost crashed to her feet, too worn out from the battle to do anything other than almost drop Adrien and fall to her knees to catch some air.

She couldn't even look at Adrien as she tried to focus on getting her breath back, but she could tell he was concerned.

Very sheepishly said boy looked at her with those devastating puppy dog eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Yeah, nope. That wasn't going to work this time. Though her pants, she was able to get out, "Boy, do you know how heavy you are?! Just how?!"

Adrien winced a smile at her. "Fun fact, my BMI is 98 percent muscle."

While she had never loved him for his appearance alone, she couldn't help biting her lower lip upon hearing that very fun fact.

"Yea..yeah. Okay! Fine. I-I'm fine I guess. Just really could use Chat's help right about now."

She did, however, miss the way his body shifted nervously. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. He wouldn't leave you alone in this. Perhaps he's just trying to find a safe place to transform, you know like you told me you do."

Her breath finally returning, she scrambled to get back to her feet. "He's always had my back. I just hope nothing's happened to him."

His fingers grasped her chin, tilting it up for her to be able to look him in the eyes directly. "I'm sure he's good, he has you as his partner after all, right? That alone is worth fighting for. Now you better go, Paris is waiting for you."

She smiled, stretched on the tip of her toes, and briefly pressed her to lips to his cheek. "I'll swing by your place tonight. Now please, just stay here till this guy is taken care of."

She noticed the lovestruck stare thrown her way after the small pun.

Boys were just weird.

Jumping back into the action, Ladybug sprung out of their hiding place and back onto the city streets.

Before she got too far she could hear a small conversation going on behind her.

"Don't worry Adrien, I know a safe place you can stay until we're done fighting this Akuma."

A small amount of weight was lifted off her shoulders hearing Chat take her boyfriend to safety. She only hoped that he didn't see them together beforehand in the alley. Although she knew the truth would come out to Chat eventually she wanted it to be on her terms and not in the heat of battle.

"Thank you, Chat! What would the city do without you and the incredible Ladybug! I sure hope I can be as cool as you one day."

She couldn't help but shake her as she let out a little chuckle at that. Chat may be her partner but there was almost no contest as to who was cooler out of the two boys.

* * *

Hours later and the night grew darker and with the couple settled in Adrienn's room with a board game between them, and Adrienn still deciding his next move, Ladybug couldn't help but blurt out, "You don't mind that I save you, right?"

His eyes immediately left the board, wonder dancing across his face. "What?"

She coughed, but tried to keep her face casual, "I-I mean, I know how some people can get in the mindset that it has to be the guy saving girl and all that." Her eyes darted off sideways as her teeth took a little part of her lip and bit down.

Adrien's eyebrow crunched together in confusion. "Do I seem like the kind of gu-"

"No, of course not." She said waving her hands crazily about. She sighed. "Guess I'm just being paranoid with the idea you may have felt… I don't know, off put by the idea that your superhero girlfriend has to save you from an akuma's like some damsel in distress."

A grin became ever so present on his face. "So, does that make you my knight in shining spandex?"

At his joke, all worry and self-doubt just vanished from her mind. Just one little joke, and that was enough reassurance in all the world. What was she thinking anyway? This was Adrien. He wouldn't care about something so trivial as getting rescued by his girlfriend.

Heck, knowing him, he was probably happy with it. "Sorry. Just a stupid little thought in my head."

He took the game and set it aside to move closer to her, taking her hands. "It's not stupid. Your thoughts never are. Not always correct," Her eyes narrowed in a glare. "But that doesn't make them stupid."

Ladybug shook her head, trying not to show her enjoyment at the teasing, but she knew she was failing hard. His humor was something else, it almost was akin to Chat's. Those two would get along well in that aspect.

Once the giggles subdued from the model's lips, he took on a more serious expression. "I promise you though, lovebug. I'm not put off by you saving me." He paused, considering his words."And if you wanna take up the mantel of being my knight in shining spandex, I definitely won't complain."

Her blush was back. When wasn't it? This boy just loved doing that to her. "Well, I'm glad you don't mind. Thank you for putting my mind at ease."

His smile grew. "Anytime, lovebug, anytime."

With their conversation finished, she moved the game back into view, her gaze daring. "Now, if I remember correctly, I was kicking your butt in guess who."

The challenge that was playing on his lips was nothing if not welcoming.

"For now Lovebug, But something tells me I'm pretty safe for the moment."


	6. Working Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy!

Okay, this was new. Not unwelcome per se, but definitely new. While it was a suggestion, he had no idea she would actually take him up on his offer. Was he even ready? It seemed so hard but then again, chemistry always was. He just couldn't believe she would say yes to something so mundane as homework. It had been a joke, in his mind.

But apparently not hers.

Because the very next night, after he made that joke, she came tumbling in, a brown satchel wrapped around her torso. That wasn't to say, he wasn't excited, he was more than happy to help, but that… narrowed down a few people. Or a lot.

As he held her chemistry assignment— she hadn't put her name on it yet, thank goodness— he was about to voice his thoughts when she seemed to have already known what he was going to ask.

She always did seem to have a knack for reading his mind.

"I… know it's a bit of a risk, but I know you won't go looking. Besides, we both knew that school was a big possibility of how we know each other. I mean, how else would I really know you? Do I look like model material?"

Of course. "Well-"

She held up her index finger. "On second thought, don't answer that."

He smiled, but heed her request as he sat down in front of his computer desk, eyes narrowing in on the questions she seemed to be having trouble with the most.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

His head snapped up to see her watching him carefully. Of course, she'd noticed, she always did. That was just a part who she was. Attentive, always watching, even when she was quiet and just observed what happened around her. "I'm… today was a long day at school. Some things happened, along with my dad, and I just...yeah. I'm exhausted."

Setting aside her homework, she took a seat on the couch, and patted the spot next to her. "C'mon. Tell me what's up?"

He didn't hesitate to leave his desk chair to take up the cushions beside her. "Just...Chloe being… Chloe. And bullying other people. I…. I kinda realized something with that."

"What'd you realize?"

He sighed, combing a hand through his hair. "I…..I don't ...I don't always put my foot down with her like I should."

She seemed floored by his observation, like she hadn't expected him to ever realize how bad Chloe could be. She blinked a couple times before her face morphed into a soft smile. "While you're right in the fact that you don't always put your foot down with her, I get it that you see the potential in her. I see it from time to time myself. That's why I gave her the bee miraculous in the first place. It's there, but she has to want to be good because she wants it, not because of what everyone else tells her to do, and she hasn't done that yet."

Adrien couldn't help but agree. "I know. And a part of that blame is on me, I've enabled her in the past because of everything that she's been through with her parents— with her mom."

Ladybug paused, her stare looking past him, her mind going someplace else. He could tell the exact moment an idea popped into her mind, because her eyes lit up as her lips were drawn into an ecstatic smile. "What if we showed her what it's like to have people that care. Really care? We do things, like support her when she does good, hold her when she's accountable for when she does something wrong, show her that we won't stand for it. That we hold her to higher standards in the way she acts, like she should've been taught all along."

The idea seemed good enough to the point where Adrien actually thought that might work. "So, how would we do this?"

Of course, Ladybug was already two steps ahead. "Simple, we're her two favorite people. You do it during school, and I'll visit her from time to time as Ladybug. I can't give her back the bee miraculous with everyone knowing her identity," She flinched at the memory of mirlacour, "So that's out of the question. Then, if she stops bullying people, we can show her that people are willing to listen, especially if she needs someone to talk to when she's having hard times."

Hope bubbled in his heart. "Do you think it could work?"

She nodded. "Sometimes people need to see that the consequences of their actions can affect what happens around them. That people won't keep staying around when she's so outright mean. Once that happens, I think it'll set her on the right path."

A funny thought popped into his head. "Does that mean we get to work together in this? Like, a team? Not as good as you and Chat, though. Of course."

She laughed. "'Course not."

He grabbed for her homework, settling it on his lap and pulling his girlfriend closer so she could snuggle up just a bit as they started. "Okay, now let's get back to school work."

"Out of curiosity, what brought that on?"

He brought his head back up to meet her eyes. "Huh?"

She invited herself just a bit closer to get a better look at him. "What made you think about how bad Chloe's been lately?"

He knew the answer. He knew it and hit just a bit harder, because he wished he could follow her example. "My friend Marinette stood up to one of Chloe's classic bullyings towards another student. And I did nothing."

He heard the hitch of her breath before hands cupped his jaw, forcing green to meet blue. "That's wrong. You told Chloe what she did was wrong. You stood up to her as well."

"Not like I should've. I always let her have her way in the end. That's why I want to fix it."

Her sky blue stare softened. "You're not perfect, Adrien. You're doing your best with what you know."

He pulled her into a hug, needing the contact. "What I know is that I'm gonna work harder to make sure I do the right thing. Being in this house, in my room for hours alone, really makes it easy to think."

"And what about your father?"

He sighed. "My father decided to add more photoshoots to my schedule this week. Sometimes I think too much. Times like these, I wish I could just break out and do what I want to, you know?" And sure, he could as Chat, and it was great, but sometimes he wished he could do it as Adrien. Just plain and simple Adrien.

"I know," She murmured against his chest. "I hope you know that if you ever need to talk about your day, whether its good or bad, I'm here for you, to talk about whatever, whenever."

He pressed a fleeting kiss to the crown of her head. "Thanks, lovebug. Now that we got that planned out with Chloe, let's tackle a less daunting feat, teammate. Homework."

A hand on his wrist stopped him from turning on the tablet. He looked up to see Ladybug contemplating something. "Got any special plans for tomorrow night?"

Nothing that he could really think of. "Just hanging with you here?"

She grinned. "What if we switched it up a bit and went somewhere?"

His jaw dropped. "But what about your rules?"

Her smile turned catish — a true page out of his own book— and it did things to him. Things that were far from pure, and his heart vibrated against his chest. The cat that got caught the canary came to his mind as he watched her gaze.

She leaned over, mouth brushing the shell of his ear, "Oh, hot stuff." The purr of her words breathed hot air into his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "Haven't you heard?"

He gulped.

"Rules are made to be broken."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Marinette. Breaking your own rules.
> 
>  
> 
> I mean, it’d get pretty boring if they stayed in his bedroom all the time. Lets see where this leads them.  
> See you guys next time! Lemme know your thoughts on your way out! :D


	7. Fencing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay you guys. I'm warning you here and now. This is a VERY high rated T, bordering on M, but I don't think it requires that rating. But if you don't want to see any sexual content— it's very symbolic in the way that it's written, as in, it's not a straight-up sex sense, but it's very heavily implied— there will be a line break in the middle right before the content and after so if you'd like, you can skip over.
> 
> Anyways, I'm not gonna lie, I'm really proud of this chapter. While I don't think of Adrien as 'damaged' losing a mother at fourteen (This does take at least a year later, so they are legal in the eyes of France!) and having a cold, distant father who fills his life with nothing but a busy schedule has to be hard on the mind every now and then. And this is where it comes out to show. I hope you guys enjoy!

The courtyard of the school at night was eerily silent. No cricket in the background chirping its usual sound, not even the white noise of the A/C running. Just, dead quiet that surrounded him.

But that didn't stop his mind from running away like it always did when it was quiet. That was when his thoughts came out to play. Nothing to keep his thoughts at bay— good, bad, it didn't matter. Thoughts of his mother, of his father. Of busy schedules and what he had to do next. He had to keep his father happy, he was the only one he had left since his mother disappeared. His father deserved happiness.

Even if it meant the very breath he took was planned three weeks in advance.

He still had school, his friends, his double life, and now he had her. Ladybug. It was a fair balance in his mind.

He wasn't depressed, far from it actually, although, he did miss his mother very much, and to an extension, his father. But he worked through that and the hard parts of his day when he felt overworked. When his mind wandered to thoughts of his father's words, the endless photoshoot, the paparazzi and all that came with fame.

Try as he might, they eventually found him. Rushing through his head like a mighty river. He had to shut his mind down when that happened, but it was still okay.

It was enough.

It had to be.

Shaking the thoughts away he looked up to his partner that stood next to him. Seeing the joy that bounced off her eyes he couldn't help but ask, "What're we doing here exactly?"

A grin broke out and took hold of her lips. "Isn't it obvious? We're here to fence. For fun."

He was kinda taken aback by the odd phrasing of her words. "And the other times that I fence for competitions aren't?"

Her grin turned knowing. "No, but when it's for a competition, you have a goal in mind. A reason to fence. A.. reason to make your father happy." Her eyes turned solemn at that. "You used to love fencing when you were younger because you just thought it was fun, no other motive behind it. So, that's what we're doing. We're fencing to make you happy. No one else."

What?

Just…. What?

When had she picked up on that? How? He was so careful with the sport. He loved it, truly he did, but he always kept it a secret that he missed to fence just because. How… how did she see that?

Gosh, did he love this woman.

Realizing he was staring too long, he figured it was actually better to say something. "Thank you. That.. that means more than I could ever say."

She giggled and moved in closer, nuzzling his shoulder before parting from him to into the area where they held the fencing equipment.

She appeared in front of him moments later wearing a strange feathered mask that was easily placed from the art department of the school.

"Okay, Lovebug, what's that for?"

She smiled and pointed to the open space above their heads. "I know all too well from having an entire blog dedicated to me, how many news helicopters are in this city. I don't think it would be a good image to have out there of Ladybug attacking local supermodel Adrien Agrests. Plus, the thing that gives me my ability to be Ladybug needed rest for the night, so I figured this would work just as good for a disguise."

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Fair point. Speaking of which." He picked up the saber and tossed the handle end at her, with her quickly snatching it out of the air. "How versed are you with a blade?"

She took her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Well I don't exactly want to say but-"

He lunged forward without notice to give a little tap to her caf with his saber. Not hard enough to sting, but just enough to get her attention. "See right there, you left yourself wide open. If this were a real fight I might not have been kind enough to go for you-"

He was cut off when his rear end hit the concrete followed by a sharp sting in the right ankle. "I didn't even see you move! How? When?!"

She gave him a sly smile. "Samurai films. My dad's a really big fan."

Adrien smiled as he picked himself up. "Careful now, give out too many pieces and the puzzle of who's behind that mask might just solve itself."

She took a strike at him, yet, he blocked it with his attention now fixed on her stance. "I don't think that's going to be much of a problem considering my parents."

This time, he swung using only his wrist to push her blade away. "In that case, I don't think I'll be holding back like I do with the other's."

Her smile widened at his confession. "So, you are holding back?"

A cat like smile graced his face as the moonlight shined against his teeth. The air was cool aa a sudden breezy swept through the courtyard. Before she had a chance to react, he bolted from her sight, as she heard a whoosh come from behind her. He went for a long strike, leaving him open for a counter attack.

He wanted to test the water of how she actually was a with a saber. A mistake he would come to regret as he was nearly smacked in the face by her strike. He allowed his legs to go limp as her blade just passed over him causing strands of hair to be lost in the darkness of the night.

Her smile became predatory. "Come on, take me a little more seriously. I fight Akumas on a daily basis, I think I can handle Mr. Agreste at his best."

"Careful there Mrs. Ag… Ladybug. You might not like what you unleash."

She didn't seem to notice his slip up, or she ignored it. Either way, she didn't call him out on it, thankfully. "Why don't you stop testing me and we can both find out."

"Permission?" He let out with a playful smile.

She looked into his eyes with fierce determination. "Granted."

He kept his swings tight, making sure not to leave himself open as she advanced forward, taking away the courtyard that faced his back. She was good. But she asked for his best and that's what he was gonna give her. He placed his free hand on the railing of the stairs as he pulled himself onto the steps, breaking free of her advancement.

Not having to hide her super athletic prowess her powers granted her, even to a point without the suit, she jumped high into the air, taking a light swing as she landed just above him on the stairway. She began to press him down swing after swing but made a fatal error when she went to jab at him.

Her saber just missing his shirt he spun around her to regain the high ground, when she knocked him off the steps with her elbow. He caught himself as she jumped down to his level.

Without giving her a moment to breathe, he pounced forward only to feel a small tinge in his chest. Looking down he could see the tip of her blade bending at on his clothes. Sweat had started to run down his neck when he could finally hear it.

Silence.

* * *

In the time they had been sparing, he heard not a thought, not his father's voice nor the harsh flash of cameras, only the flow of the battle. A smile split his face upon the realization and when he looked up all he saw was the amazing woman that caused this peace inside him. As the moment enveloped them he stepped back pushing her saber to side taking a deep breath before pouncing at her resuming the fight.

She was surprised at his advances, yet, she agreed and began to dance with her partner around the courtyard as their sweat began to fly off with every step they took. Their movements were rapid and fluid as the kept in sync with every breath they stole from the other.

The dance was fierce and filled with fire as they locked eyes not daring to stray from the others gaze. Their moves while precise, yet felt primal, as though they had done this dance for eternity, two beings locked together in a never-ending shift of power to see who would prevail. 

* * *

In the end, it was a draw as the two laid on the hard concrete gasping for breath, the cool breeze of the night relieving the heat between them as it pressed against their bare skin. Neither of them spoke as they looked deep into the night sky above them.

"I guess you were right not to be dressed in your uniform for tonight. If anyone got wind of that people might not look at Ladybug the same for a long time."

She slapped his arm in play. "And what about you and your image?"

"Yeah, I my image can go jump in a hole. Now my win/loss ratio. That's something I can't live with being tarnished."

She sat up making sure to pick up his shirt in the process. "Boy, are you asking really for a rematch after that?"

He shrugged. "I'm just saying, I have an image to uphold, right?"

"Isn't the guy supposed to be tired after fighting like that?"

An eyebrow arched. "You know, I spend every day on my feet in front of cameras. It's hard for me to stay still for too long."

"Calm down, Mr. 98% Muscle."

He smiled. "So, you remembered that?"

She smirked. "Of course."

She buttoned up his shirt as she adjusted her stance. The smile on her face so genuine as picked up the saber once more. He picked up his blade and readied himself for her first move yet something seemed off. Her swing left nothing open on her yet he knew even if she did he would not have found it.

The guilt started to settle in.

He had been pushing it back for weeks now, but after what they had just done, what they just did, together, it all came bubbling to the surface. Try as he might, he couldn't ignore it.

He jabbed forward only to have his advances denied by a swift swing to the thigh.

She didn't know.

He tried again, go for her blind spot but his movements were sloppy and he knew it.

She didn't know he was Chat.

His butt hit the pavement hard as she let out a soft gasp before he raised his hand letting her know he wasn't giving up.

He knew they talked about it once in a hypothetical situation, and she wouldn't be upset if he was, but it rang clear that she still had no clue whatsoever that he was her partner. At least she'd flat out told him that they knew each other as civilians.

She'd had no idea.

He pressed on only to be denied again and again.

One of the few people that he could be real with.

Another miss!

And he still couldn't be fully open with her!

He felt a sting in his other ankle.

Maybe the universe just wanted to taunt him.

He slashed frantically in the air not aiming for her anymore.

Maybe it was trying to break them in the slowest way possible.

He let out a ferocious yell as sweat pooled above his brow.

But he would continue to fight back. His lady was worth it. No matter the guilt he felt in deceiving her.

She swung and his blade caught hers.

He could only hope that she'd forgive him after the reveal. If she didn't, then he'd have to accept whatever he was given, even if it hurt.

He shoved her saber away advancing forward with slow and steady steps.

Maybe he deserved it.

A near miss.

Afterall, she was willing to share that they knew him as her, but he couldn't give a hint that he was Chat?

He caught her off guard as he lunged forward. Surprise in her eyes as she glimpsed the determination in his.

Even if she was the one that wanted it in the first place. After all, she did say rules were made to be broken.

She was against the wall.

His head was hurting.

Sparks trailed his blade as it scraped against the brick wall where she stood not a moment ago.

He just didn't know what to do. He was at a crossroad.

He stood there taking in heavy breaths as she stood motionless. Seemingly frightened by the sight of his frustration.

Yet the way she looked at him. The way she cared. He pushed forward and fought on. If she was willing to fight for him, then he could never stop fighting for her no matter what the cost, no matter what the universe wanted.

This was his life. This was his choice! Darn what the universe wanted for him and Darn what his father wanted! Right now, in this moment, what he wanted was in front of him and he would fight the world to keep it! He would fight the world to keep her. His girlfriend, his choice, his peace.

Fate was going to be something he made with her, not something that fate made with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to tell me how the heck I put in a proper line breaker, I'd greatly appreciate it!


	8. Valentine's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy!

Neither hardly noticed when, in a blink of an eye, four months pass.

While they were starting to become more bold with going out and enjoying the day— always making sure that they didn't get caught by paparazzi of any of the sort— they still liked their time in his room.

Like, for instance, right now it was nearing two in the morning on the weekend— week days they were regulated to a One AM curfew because of school, which they actually kept to pretty well, considering it was only themselves that could enforce it— both in front of the TV, controller in hand as she and Adrien battled bot against bot.

She was detransformed with a Ladybug mask she had gotten just for the occasion. She wore Adrien's clothes, as to not be identified by her civilian outfit, and she wouldn't deny the coy smile that had graced her lips at the look in his eyes at the sight of her in his clothing.

It also allowed Tiiki to rest, which she was happily doing on a plate of cookies Adrien had provided her— the two actually got along quite well. Two peas in a pod almost.

Every now and then, she'd mindlessly pluck a sweet that he had set on the table for them to munch on, her fingers always going for the cupcake with chocolate frosting first.

As the game intensified, with tongue sticking out in concentration, she plucked one of the cupcakes up from its plate and licking the frosting clean off before taking the tiny cake into her mouth to consume.

And with only one hand, she won the game.

She jumped up from her spot on the couch, whooping in victory, all the while, Adrien grumbled about how unfair it was that she literally beat him with one hand.

She sunk back down into the couch, rubbing her nose against his cheek. "All's fair in love and war, hot stuff.."

He grumbled again, but there was no heat attached to it. "Anyways," He said as he went to change the subject. "Valentine Day's just around the corner, and I was wondering if you'd like to do something special? I have the plans all sorted out, I'd just have to direct you there as we go, but I already have a thing set in motion. But only if you'd want to, of course."

Ladybug squealed, throwing herself at her boyfriend. "I'd definitely want to go! So, on Valentine's day? That's…" She paused to look at the date on his phone, smiling at the background picture of them cuddled up together. "In three days. Should I be by early?"

He shook his head. "Nah, usual time should be good. Less people out, the better."

She nodded in agreement and settled into the silence around them as they decided to pick one last game to play before she was to head home. But that silence didn't last before Adrien broke it once more. "Hey, I was wondering…"

She looked away from his stack of games and met his eyes. "Yeah?"

He moved from his couch over to his computer desk, and grabbed something flimsy— almost like….paper— off of the desk and handed it over.

It was the Valentine's day card she had given to him. He had gotten it.

He kept it.

"I..um…" He hardly got nervous around her anymore, but in the few cases that he did, Ladybug found it adorable. "I had been hoping it was from you."

She smiled. "It.. it was."

A smile of his own flashed across his lips. "T-that's great. Really great." He paused, as if to consider what he wanted to say next. "At one point, I thought it was a friend from school, but then I realized that she probably likes this other boy, so it couldn't have possibly from…..her…."

His words trailed off as he took her in, as he really looked at her, as if he was looking through her— through her mask. He was studying her.

And as quickly as he looked at her, he shook away whatever thought that had been lingering in his mind.

Ladybug couldn't help the way her shoulders slumped just a bit at that. At the possibility that he was considering who she might be and just maybe was making the connection. Even if she should be relived. She should be. She was. She was.

But she couldn't help but wonder. "Who… who did you think made that card for you?"

He chuckled a little. "Um, well, a friend from school: Marinette. Now, please don't be worried. She's just a friend."

Ladybug had to hold back the flinch her body automatically wanted to make at those words. "What… what if… hypothetically, I was Marinette. I'm only asking out of curiosity sake."

"Honest answer?"

She nodded.

His tongue ran the length of his bottom lip. "I would actually be pretty happy. Marinette's an amazing girl. Strong, brave, smart. She has a strong sense of justice. You are a lot alike, honestly. I mean, I've called her our everyday Ladybug because I truly believe that. But you couldn't be her, because she likes Luka. Besides, she's just starting to get comfortable around me."

Ladybug felt as if her brain was ready to explode. He thought about her like that? He thought that highly of her? If Ladybug never existed, would they be together? So may thoughts with this new insight. She couldn't tell him that he was wrong, that he didn't make her uncomfortable. But one thing couldn't help but slip through.

"What makes you think she liked Luka?"

His eyes went sideways once before going back to her. "I don't know. I saw them at the ice rink, and it kinda seemed like… she well, liked him, I guess."

Her heart dropped to her stomach. She wanted to correct him. Tell him. Tell him that she actually loved him— Adrien. So many things that she wanted to do.

But what she wanted, and what needed to happen were to completely different things.

And a good superhero listened to her head, not her heart. No matter how much the heart wanted to speak.

* * *

The date finally arrived, and she had been directed to take them to a random rooftop that had an amazing view of the city.

And what was set before her was a table with arrange of her favorite— and a couple of his as well— foods.

But the best food that he had on the table was the cupcakes that she could eat days on in.

Did… did he know that was her favorite of all the sweets? Sure, a chocolate cupcake was simple and anyone could make it, but she had a soft spot for the plain deserts.

"I can tell you like them so much because they're the first thing you look for when you're distracted. Every time in fact. You know, I'm more observant than you think."

He noticed. He cared to the point that the smallest things about her was what he wanted to learn about her. Even if it was as simple and plain as a cupcake, the effort that he put into making sure everything that she wanted was what she wanted. She was a priority to him, and that just made her heart flutter a little more so.

She turned her head just slightly to see that signature goofy grin plastered on his lips. It was one he only used for her. It made her feel all the more special.

Her gaze continued to go back between the dinner table and her boyfriend. "You did all this….for me?"

He pulled her in close, sliding his arms around her waist. "You and only you, Lovebug. Now, c'mon. This dinner isn't gonna eat itself."

She laughed, hugging him just a bit tighter. "Kay."

They took their seats, but not before he pulled her chair out for her, being the gentleman that he was.

Once both comfortable, Adrien raised his glass of orange juice, asking her to do the same. "Happy Valentine's day, Ladybug."

"Happy Valentines Day, Adrien."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, I wonder if things are starting to turn? We'll have to wait and see.


	9. Clumsy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? I got this done before midnight? *Le gasp* how is that possible?
> 
> Well, honey, miracles do happen. Let's get on with the show.
> 
> I should preface this by saying this is a little ladynoir along with Adrienette in this for...plot reasons? Maybe? I don't know.
> 
> Please enjoy.

It was hard not to notice sometimes. When she mistook a step, when she hesitated to make that one long leap, or when she took extra time to gauge her throw with the yo-yo.

Regardless, he didn't think of her any less, definitely not.

And as time went on— especially after Stoneheart— she grew into her role as Ladybug. Becoming more confident with each mission and villain that had been thrown at them.

To the point where, nearly a year after becoming Ladybug and Chat Noir— she knew that Ladybug and the girl beneath the mask were one in the same. That her superhero self came from her. And he got to see that, both in battle as Chat, and alone in his room with her as Adrien.

But…. there were some days where her insecurities leaked through, as all humans have happen to them. She was no exception to that, and that was okay. Because he would be there for her.

Now, what started this thought in Chat's mind was, after the fact that they had just taken down another villain that night, Ladybug had been her usual self, happy, easy going with a smile that always made his heart sing. They gave their signature pound it, and all was good. Nothing out of the ordinary with her.

He was about to run off as he was about to transform back, when she asked if patrol was still in the cards for the evening, which he agreed.

However, when he reached the tower after Plagg had been fed, he noticed something had been...off about her, but he could tell she was trying to push whatever had invaded her mind away.

He knew as he took a seat beside her, and was enveloped in the silence that laid in front of them, he wasn't the one that could push. It wasn't good to push, and he knew better than to do that. So, instead, he shoved his shoulder against her, trying to shake the sadness that had woven itself into her beautiful eyes.

It seemed to work, somewhat. Her head snapped up from its' slumped over position, eyes questing what he was doing."Yeah?"

He shrugged. "Wanna race?"

He wanted to help in any way possible. Be it Chat, or Adrien, he'd do everything that he could. Anything to see her smile. He wouldn't be able to see her tonight as Adrien, she had piles of homework that she had to focus on, but she promised this weekend would be only theirs, as her parents would be out of the city for the entire duration.

His suggestion seemed to help. The foul mood drained from her face, but still held tightly in her eyes. "Sure."

He jumped to his feet, pulling her along with him. He counted down to three and darted off like a blazing bullet. He was halfway to the end finish line, when he looked back to see his bugaboo trailing closely behind, almost matching his pace.

A devious smile graced his face.

Keyword: Almost.

But as she came running to the edge of a roof, he could see the second's hesitation she took before she leaped to the next rooftop. The worry in her eyes about how great the fall would be if she miscalculated her jump. It was hardly noticeable, only someone with his catlike eyes could catch. But it was there, and it worried him to an extent.

He stopped dead in his tracks, catching her before she bounded past him.

She was clearly shocked by the abrupt stop. "Chat, what's going on? I thought we were in a race?"

He nodded. "We were. But you weren't giving your best. I'm not racing with someone that wouldn't give me her best. I want competition, not an easy win. I know you won't talk about it, but whatever happened, whoever said what they did, they're wrong. Plain and simple, they don't know anything about you." She raised a finger, ready to correct him, "Don' t even try to argue," She deflated. "They don't. They really, really don't. So, I won't race until I have my partner back."

He crossed his arms over his chest, daring her. He knew it wouldn't make everything one hundred percent right away, but as long as it worked for now, that was what he cared about.

It worked almost instantly. She smirked. "Okay, Chaton. Let's race."

She turned to race, but was stopped short by her partner once more. "And hey, bugaboo?"

Her eyebrow rose, ready for the puns that would always come. "I'll always catch you if you fall." And winked.

She groaned, but went ahead to start the race.

In the end, she won, just as he knew she would.

* * *

Adrien would often times, find himself trying very, very hard not to look for her. Particularly in school, because he knew that she was there, but he also knew he had to respect her and what she wanted, so as much as he wanted, he kept his eyes to himself.

He never admitted it to Ladybug, because he didn't want to hurt in the case that she wasn't— and honestly, he didn't want to get his hopes up in the very rare case that she could be, because no matter what, he loved this girl— but a part of him kinda wished she had been Martinette.

He could deny a crush on his classmate all he wanted— and to a point, it was true. He only had eyes for Ladybug.

But… he couldn't deny the feeling of his heart fluttering and then disappointment right after he came to the conclusion that it wasn't Marinette that had sent that card, that she was in love with someone else.

But then finding out it was indeed from Ladybug brought his mood up ninety nine percent.

He won't admit to that one percent that still wasn't.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Adrien made a bee line to the table where his friends were seated— his father allowed him to eat at the school for once and he really wanted to spend time with the three.

Marinette had yet to arrive, probably off doing something.

He took the spot next to Nino, who was sitting across from Alya. "Hey, dude. 'Sup?"

Pulling out his food, Adrien shrugged. "Not much. What's up with you guys?"

Alya, in all her excited glory, pulled out her phone and began to update him on the latest akuma attack and how Ladybug and Chat Noir had beaten their own record. Adrien couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

Alya was still in the middle of her ragging story when a loud crash came to the left of them, and sure enough, there was Marinette, face planted on the floor, with food all around her and Chloe standing over her, laughing like a maniac.

Adrien didn't even think, just left his seat, and went over to help the young designer.

All the while, Chloe looked absolutely disgusted. "Adrikens, why are you helping her?"

That was when the reminder of what he and Ladybug had talked about started to sink in and he knew what he had to do, for her sake, and everyone else's. With a firm mind, he did just what he promised to do. "Chloe, you need to stop this. You can't keep harassing people."

She threw her head back and cackled like the witch that she always acted. "Adrkins, don't be ridiculous. Haven't you learned anything from what I told you? People like her are beneath us."

He huffed, putting his body in between Chloe and Marinette, creating a barrier. "No, Chloe. I hate to say this but until you can learn to respect others and do so because you want to, then I'm cutting you off."

She winced at the model, yet he stood his ground. "Cut me off? What does that mean?"

He planted his foot firmly on the ground. "It means, until you learn the consequences of your actions onto others, I won't so much as like a single selfie, respond to any text, and if it comes to it, unfollow and block your profile from my Instagram feed."

She nearly fell to her knees. "But you can't. You just can't!"

He gave her no response as he held out his hand to help Marinette off the ground. Once back on her feet, he took her along with him to the table, not sparing another glance back to his childhood friend.

When they both took their seats, Alya and Nino were dead silent, everyone was.

Marinette looked to him, eyes still a bit sad, but not as bad as they were. "Thanks, Adrien, that...that meant a lot."

He offered a smile, but was still hurt seeing the pain written on her face. It didn't deserve to take residents there. "Hey, Marinette. What do you call a mountain of cats?"

Her eyes automatically narrowed in suspicion, lips pulled for the punchline, as if she was ready for whatever he was gonna throw at her, as if she was used to it. "I don't know, what?"

"A meowtain!"

She groaned, burying her head in her hands, but he could see the hints of a smile in the edges of her lips. "No."

"What's the opposite of negative?"

Her hands fell from her face, but she refused to meet his eyes, "Adrien, no."

"Pawstive."

"Ki-"

She stopped. Whatever she was about to say, she paused as her eyes glossed over for only a second, thinking over what she was about to say, before she currently put it away and looked back to him. "Adrien, cat puns are the worse."

No, they were definitely not, especially when that smile was so bright.

* * *

Two days of not seeing his girlfriend as Adrien, and he was finally able to feel excited once more when the usual tap came to his window.

Not a second passed as the window was flung open when she pounced on him, knocking both of them to the floor and nuzzling his neck.

He chuckled before maneuvering to his knees, gripping her tightly and lifting her up along with himself, and carried her to the couch. "What brought all that on?"

She hummed against his neck, sending jolts of electricity throughout him. "Missed you. Kinda a rough week, but it got better, and now it's perfect. Sorry for tackling you."

He laughed. "You're welcomed to tackle me anytime, lovebug."

She reached up and pressed a sweet kiss to his jaw. "Thanks."

"Out of curiosity, what's gotten you down?"

She sighed. "I… I don't know. I guess it started with this one reporter that was really being rude."

He hadn't expected that, out of everything that she would've said, that was the last of them. "What happened?"

For a moment, he thought she might not answer, when she said, "Chat had to go recharged his kwami, and this reporter comes up to me, out of the blue, and asks when we think we'll defeat Hawkmoth and asking what was taking so long, and how could they really place their trust in two young teens?"

He kissed her head. "That reporter doesn't know anything. She thinks its any easy job because she's not the one going out there and literally risking her life for people. Its easier to judge from the sidelines."

"I know. Just kinda brought me back to before, back when I wasn't Ladybug. Before I became who I am."

"If you need to talk, I'm here. Just vent. Do with what you can, don't tell me too much detail, but do whatever you need to."

She took a long breath before starting from the beginning. How, up until recently, she wasn't close to many people, sure she had friends, but nothing like how her life is now. She kept to herself, quiet. It had been easier that way, because she always thought that she was clumsy and with less people around, there were less to see her fall, trip on herself, on thin air sometimes.

It had just been better that way.

Then the new school year started, she met different people— him included— and it just became better. She started coming out of her shell, and she started making her own way in school, friends, and life overall— especially in her superhero life.

"But, you wanna know something?"

"What's that, lovebug?"

She pulled back to look at him, running a gloved finger against his bottom lip. "That it's okay, that I'm okay with being clumsy, it's a part of who I am. And I'm proud of that."

Her lips connected to his and everything else just melted away, it was just him and his clumsy little ladybug. Yeah, this was beyond perfect. Beyond what anyone could really comprehend in a lifetime.

Oh, how he loved his clumsy little bug.


	10. Obilivo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble at first with this chapter, but then I really put my head into this, and I think it worked out in the end. I hope so.

Obilivo was one of Marinette's least favorite akuma's.

She meant nothing hateful towards Chat. She just still couldn't understand why she kissed him, what even led up to it, or heck, really anything about that day for that matter. While she was completely clueless as to why, her beef was definitely not with Chat on that one.

It was with Alya.

She loved the girl to death, don't get her wrong, but the blogger just wouldn't shut up about the ladynoir kiss, no matter how much Marinette begged her to — and to boot, everyone in Pairs loved them as a couple, even though she found it to be incredibly dangerous seeing as Hawkmoth could use it against them if he tried.

Plus, there was the fact that she was in love, and dating Adrien, but of course only she knew that.

She couldn't make it easy on herself. No, why would she do that?

Keep your identity a secret so your loved ones don't get hurt, why yes Master Fu that sounds perfectly reasonable, now excuse me, I'm late for my date with the most famous boy in all of Paris!

Her mind was a complete mess. But you know, having a best friend who got her ships wrong didn't help one bit!

So, without skipping a beat at that very moment everyone was seated in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring, Alya was already gushing about the two's 'romantic relationship'.

While he wasn't bad, the thought of kissing Chat over Adrien was comparable to swapping hairballs.

It had been months since Obilivo. Literal months. But Alya was still obsessed. "Maybe they're just not allowed to tell anyone? You can clearly see the way they look at each other that they're in love."

Nino was actually the one to speak up. "But didn't she say that she was in love with another boy?"

Alya slumped back, defeat heavy on her shoulders. Marinette could tell her best friend was muddling all through the different possibilities as to why Ladybug would kiss Chat during Olivio if she had feelings for another boy.

She had honestly wondered why herself.

Marinette saw the second it clicked in her best friend's mind. Her spine went straight as she bolted upright. "What if… the other guy, is Chat? As in the guy underneath the mask?"

Marinette felt her jaw drop to the floor. And then snap shut, and repeat a few times before she nearly burst out in nervous laughter. Oh if that wasn't the definition of irony. If Mr. Hot Stuff was Chat. Oh, goodness, that would be just awful. Not awful because she disliked Chat.

No, awful because she had rejected Chat more times than she could count and the thought that she had done that to the love of her life and now has to hide his true feelings of painful, unrelenting rejection by not only his partner but the person he trusts more than anyone else in the world. The thought that she had crushed his little feline heart over and over again and again just to tease him nearly every night. It was just unspeakable. It was horrifying.

But hey, he's not.

So, what was she even worrying about? He just couldn't Chat.

Because what kinda luck did she have, at all if she had been rejecting her crush— her boyfriend— all this time.

Alya, the ever observant journalist she was, had been taking no notice to her best friends complete freak out as she tried to hold in her, triangle, octagon, no square. A love square. Why?! Nope! This was just all the proof she needed that Alya's theories were the ramblings of a mad person. But there she was, just scrolling through her precious little blog. Oh, how fire burned through her veins seeing the casual demeanor she was taking. Didn't she notice the complete world ending hell she had brought upon her best friend!

She turned her phone to show a specific video that she has qued up. "I mean, look at this," Marinette could feel her pulse pounding through her forehead as she looked at the small, utterly breakable screen.

It was the little clip of her dragging Chat around after he got hit by Obilvo, and then her writing on the wall before she got hit herself. "If they got hit, that means that they lost their memories."

Marinette didn't want this to be real. It wasn't. It was a theory, and not a smart one at that. But like all of Alya's theories, they were pretty much false.

But, her mind offered, what if it's true.

To which the .85 percent of her brain not having a freak out responded with.

What if you shut up? Nope, brain needs to go bye bye. Besides, Alya was speaking, again.

"And so, if their miraculous were beeping, as you can tell in the video, then that means they were detransformed together. And that means they could've fallen in love with each other all over again."

Unaware that anyone else had been paying attention, Rose spoke up, hands clasped together with her head swaying sideways. "That's because it's true love."

Alya bounced out of her seat pointing to the terrified girl with ecstatic glee. "Exactly!"

Marinette's mind just hurt. This wasn't happening. It wasn't possible. Even if it was, heck, even if she would be kinda happy with the idea, she didn't want to know. So, she wouldn't. She wouldn't connect the two, she wouldn't ask, she wouldn't know. Just sweet, ignorant, bliss.

Because it was far safer that way. At least, until Hawkmoth was defeated.

That was when Adrien decided to show up, bookbag secured around his torso, and a beaming smile on his lips. "Hey, guys."

The second, he was in earshot of Alya, she told him her theory, explaining from the beginning to the end about what she thought was possible.

The absolute worst part? His smile. His smile grew, turning so crooked until his lips could only part into a sneaky grin, imagine the Grinch melded with Tim Curry and they had just taken a child's lollipop. That was his freakin' smile! All the while his eyes took on a whole new life of their own as they had a knowing smile all on their own. She could feel her throat try to consume itself.

"Oh," He breathed, "Wouldn't that be ironic?"

She would not ask him. She would not ask him. She would not ask him!

* * *

"Are you Chat?"

Eyes nearly bulging out of his head, he sputtered out his drink, choking as he tried to regain his breath at her question. After a few more coughs, his breathing was starting even out, leaving her feeling just a tad bit guilt at just blurting out the question like that.

Maybe she should've been a little more tact than that. Oh, well. Too late now.

He turned to stare at her, gauging if the question was even real.

Before she could think about it, she slapped a hand over his mouth. "Actually, don't answer that. I don't wanna know."

She hadn't meant to disturb their weekend sleepover. Her parents had been out for the weekend once again, simply because this time of the year was always packed full of people looking for their sweets. But she was used to them having to travel because of the business. It only happened this time of the month, so it wasn't anything awful.

So, here they were, on his couch, lights off, with a movie playing on the screen. Her wearing her civilian ladybug mask and lounging in his pj's, with her legs in his lap.

His gaze held worry, but he tried to keep it from going any further. "Would it be so bad if I was?"

She immediately shook her head no. "Of course not. It's… just not safe for Chat and I to know our identities. It could risk the lives of our families. After Hawkmoth yeah… but before? It's just… I don't want to know the outcome of that."

His head swayed up and down, not exactly a nod, but still an acknowledgment of her words. "That's understandable, I guess."

She scootched just a bit closer, holding his gaze firmly. "So, I don't want you to answer yes or no. Just say okay when I say I don't want to know, okay? Because if you say anything else, like 'I won't tell you if I don't wanna know,' a part of me will wonder what that means, a part of me would know, so I need you to say exactly what I'm asking you to say, okay?"

He nodded.

"I don't wanna know if you're Chat or not."

His smile was weak at best, forced. "Okay."

She sighed and moved until she fully sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling in. "If.. if Chat and I reveal our identities by accident, if it's beyond our control that is, then, it happens. But for now, I'll do whatever I can to protect him. Even if it's from myself. Because I could never forgive myself if I got akumatized and he got hurt. I just couldn't."

At that, Adrien's body seemed to release and breath again, and he let his arms fall around her waist, accepting her cuddles. "He trusts you, lovebug. He has a lot of faith in you. You wouldn't hurt him. Eventually, the reveal will happen."

She could feel herself start to fall asleep under the lull of Adrien's heartbeat.

"I know."

And her heart already did. But her head would deny it, be blind to it, until it was ready to catch up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She still doesn't know. In her mind yet at least.
> 
> But she will. They both will. It's only a matter of time.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed. Let me know your thoughts! See you tomorrow!


	11. Innocence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. The prompt was innocent. I took it and ran with it.
> 
> …...In the opposite direction.
> 
> Marinette notices Chat's side, no matter how much she tries to deny it.
> 
> This may be boarding very light M, hard T. But nothing too graphic. If you think you may need to skip this chapter, please do. Nothing too important happens except maybe at the end, which I'll have a line breaker placed in the case you'd still rather do that. From there, its completely T. I swear this is the last one that's like this. I couldn't help when I thought innocence and Chat in the same sentence.

Innocence.

Innocence meant many things to Marinette. She saw it in the eyes of Manon when she had the duty of babysitting the little tike. She saw it in the citizens she defended every day from the clutches of Hawkmoth.

And whenever the word had been spoken, the person that came to mind, was none other than Adrien Agreste. Even with the relationship growing in intimacy, there was just something in that boy that personified the word. Maybe the innocent part of him was the reason he couldn't tell that her civilian self had a crush on him.

To think, it all started with two nervous teens standing in the rain. One boy with an umbrella and one girl who nearly tripped over the air she breathed after he handed it to her. She saw the beautiful innocence in his eyes that sparkled against the tiny raindrops that had pattered around them.

But months of dating, of being with each other, both as Ladybug and Marinette, that idea had been blown out of the water like a tidal wave. Because while Adrien was nothing if not genuine in the way that he cared about her, she knew he had a side to him that was a far cry from innocent.

Truth be told, she liked it. She wasn't sure if she should. But boy, did she love seeing the fire in his eyes.

That didn't mean he wasn't innocent in some ways. He still had his cute, nieve moments at times but when he knew he could get away with something.

A small smile crept onto Marinette's face at very pleasant memories.

Oh, he knew how to cause chaos.

For instance, she loved the way he'd kiss her till she almost ran out of air. How he poured everything into the kiss, not letting until he absolutely had to. Even the slightest of touch, he found ways to make special.

How his hugs and cuddles had just a hint of something more. The way he craved her touch— most of them actually were innocent, she'd admit that— the times that they weren't, screamed of things not fit for the age range of Chat's and hers newest movie, and she couldn't help but loved it.

Because he was letting that part of him be seen, most of the times when they were alone in his room, especially the way he loved her all night on the rare occasions she wouldn't get caught and in a way she'd never forget that, or want to. It was something she would remember for the rest of her life.

There were times when they went out on small, secret dates, where the innocents was a bit more present, yet not forced, but he knew when there was a time and a place for certain behaviors— nothing less, just different ways to show a part of him.

Then, there was school. That was a time when he let his innocent side flourish. That was the side that his friends, teachers, and classmates would see.

Marinette knew better though, especially after dating him for so long. She watched, observed, wondering if she could see any of his less innocent side would crack through.

And it did— in little ways. In his smile, the way it'd be a touch too cocky at times. In the way that his eyes danced with a certain airiness to them. Just the way he would lean his body an exact way that just said, here I am, and it did funny things to her heart, as he always seemed to do.

And the more she saw the deviousness dancing in his eyes, the more she fell, because this was a part of him that nobody else knew about. A secret that only she could see. A little part of him that completed the puzzle that was Adrien and it brought a mummer to her heart.

* * *

Going back to the actually innocent kisses, she could feel the feather light touch of his lips against the back of her neck where the little tuffs of baby hair met the skin of her neck. "I can hear your thoughts all the way over here, lovebug."

She giggled before rolling over, keeping her eyes closed as not to let the beginning of the morning rays from burning her eyes. "Well, I mean, you are right here. You of all people know how my thoughts can run away with me."

His whole body shook with laughter. It was like a security blanket. "Yeah, so what going on in that pretty little head of yours?"

She cuddled in closer to press her head against his chest to listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. "Just how you're not so innocent as you seem and how cute it is."

His body stiffened against her, as if he was shocked by the revelation that she had realized that. "Um… what makes you say that?"

Her shoulders lifted in a nonchalant shrug. "Dunno. Just...I just see the way you act, around me when we're alone, when we're out, and when you're at school."

"You noticed, huh?"

She could feel the call of sleep pulling her back under. It wasn't too late to where she had to go home quite yet, was it? "Mhm."'

"Y'know." Oh gosh, how she loved his husky I just woke up voice. It had to be in her top five favorite sounds of all times. "Don't think I haven't caught you being ms. not so innocent either."

Her hand batted at some party of his body, but where, she wasn't so sure. But it pulled a giggle from his lips, so it was good either way. "You think you're so smart with that pretty face of yours, knowing you could just flex at me and you know what it'd do."

She could feel a finger run across her bottom lip and then trace the outline. "Hey, I'm not the one drooling over the summer catalog."

She grumbled. "Never should've told you that."

He pulled the covers up more around her shoulders, making sure that the light spring morning breeze coming through his cracked window wasn't nipping to badly at her bare skin. "But I'm so happy that you did."

She would've glared at him if she could open her eyes. But she was just so comfy, she didn't want to ruin the moment. "Shush, hot stuff. Enough teasing your girlfriend. Let s go back to sleepy land for another hour."

She could tell sleep was pulling him under as well. "Mkay," His yawn broke up his sentence, "Princess. Lov'u.."

And if sleep hadn't taken its claim at that very moment, maybe she would've realized the nickname his so gracious sleep induced mind gave, or the fact that if she hadn't been so sleepy, she might've caught the words I love you.

But she was too far gone to think any further on anything other than how beautiful sleep sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They were both just so sleep deprived.
> 
> I swear, there will be a reveal. But gotta have some fun first ;)


	12. Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so we're all in understanding:
> 
> I. Love. Fluff. That is all.
> 
> Thank you for all your guy's reviews! It means so much!

He had almost lost her today.

As in truly, lost her.

They had been taking care of another akuma, same run of the mill routine, when the akuma had a trick up its sleeve that neither of them had anticipated. She had taken a hit, hard, trying to protect him, but it had reflected off a beam and hit him anyways, that was rather forceful and knocked her off her feet, off from where she stood.

The fall was long as he watched from his restrained position, tears burning in his eyes— the akuma had just been a kid, a kid who was upset by losing a made up game of freeze tag— his power obviously being the ability to freeze people their spot.

She was falling from the top of the Eiffel tower— his heart falling with her. Her super suit wouldn't protect her from this.

He couldn't close his eyes, he couldn't save her. No matter how hard he tried, all he could be was a statue and watch.

His bad luck coming to a stunning finally as she grew closer to the ground.

But then, her luck interfered with his, because as she was free falling through the air— her yoyo out of reach— Carapace and Rena showed up, and the turtle caught her just in the nick of time.

Chat had never been more thankful for Carapace than in that second.

* * *

So, all in all, Adrien could hope that Ladybug would understand, when she showed up that night, why he was downright furious with her. 

She didn't of course, but he could hope, right?

She was glaring at him after he had asked— okay, maybe yelled, just a tiny bit— as to why she decided to risk her life like that. "I'm sorry, Adrien. I didn't know I needed your permission to do my job."

She was gonna play that game? Fine, he was game. "That's not what I'm saying, and you know it! You didn't have to try to take the hit for Chat! If you hadn't been in the middle, the akuma would never had gotten you like he did! You almost died."

There was a video from news reporters. He used that as a means to know how in the first place with everything that happened.

But she was still being stubborn. "He could've too! He's my partner, Adrien! I'm supposed to have his back in fights. He's always shielding me-"

"That's his job!"

"No!" She cut him off, eyes burning with absolute fury, as she matched his yell. "He's supposed to be my equal in protecting and fighting. He needs to pull me out of the danger, not shield me and take a hit every time. I may have the miraculous cure, but that doesn't make him any less important!"

Adrien was frozen still as he watched her chest heave with anger, trying to refill her lungs with air. What was he supposed to say to that? Was there anything really to say? She cared that much about… all of him?

The anger was still there, but his throat had gone raw as he forced his lips to move. The anger was slowly draining away every second that ticked by, leaving him feeling defeated instead. "You don't get it, lovebug. Maybe you're right, maybe he needs to stop being so careless, but you gotta understand how much you mean to everyone. To him. To me."

He could feel the hot tears start to stream down, blurring his vision, but he could also see Ladybug's figure still slumped just a bit— though she didn't say anything.

"You don't understand, Ladybug, how missed you'd be if we lost you. Sure, we could get another Ladybug, but we can't get another you."

He felt her arms come around his neck and he let his forehead drop against her shoulders. His dam broke as he clung to her. His lifeline. "We'd be lost without you. I know I've never said this before, because we don't talk about the future much, but do you know how much I dream about having one with you."

He heard the air escape from her lungs, and she pulled back, only so she could gently wipe the tears from his eyes, allowing him to see her beautiful— watery— face.

He loved her, so much.

She tried to offer him a small smile, it wasn't much, but it was enough.

Her gloved fingers continued brushing along an invisible pathway across his cheek. "And just what do you see in the future for us?"

He took her hand, pressing a tiny kiss to the inside of her wrist. "You and me. A small intimate wedding. A few kids that I would of course give you free rein to name. Anything you want, and I'd give. Freely, without thought. A few pets as well. Definitely a hamster."

Her giggles still held sadness and anger behind them, but it was better. But then her shoulders deflated as a thought ran across her face. "But you don't even know who I am yet, and Chat and I don't know when we'll defeat Hawkmoth. What if it takes years? Are you really willing to put off a future that long? Never knowing?"

He started to run light circles in the small of her back. "Lovebug. You are my future, with all that you are. From the way you eat your simple plain chocolate frosting cupcakes, to the way your butt wiggles in victory after you win a video game. Or how, your tongue pops out just at the edge of your mouth when you're concentrating really hard on something. I love when you press your bare feet on my legs at night in bed when you're cold. The way you pout when you're worried or scared or just sad."

His hands left her back to cup her face. "I don't think you grasp how, if I don't have you, and everything that makes you you, then I don't have a future in the first place. Even if it's just this." He gestured to the space around them, "Then that's enough. That's more than enough. I don't need anything else."

Her eyes were shining with tears. "But there are parts of me that I can't show you. Parts, that if you saw, you could connect to my civilian self easily. If I'm being truthful, we're already treading on a fine line."

He took her chin, bringing it to meet his gaze. "You hesitate." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he went on. "You hesitate sometimes when you jump. You have a horrible temper, and you're really good at holding grudges." The glare she sent was ignored. "Jump to conclusion way too fast. I still notice all of you. And you're not perfect, but I love you. All of you. The good and bad."

He could see how his words short-circuited her brain through her endless eyes. "Yo-you love me? Really?"

He nodded. "I love you, lovebug. And most people that I love end up leaving in one way or another. That's why I was scared when I saw you fall. 'Cause it was like my entire world was crumbling underneath my feet. As much as you have your faults, you're selfless. You put others before yourself, you're creative and quick on your feet and you'd do anything to make sure everyone around you is happy. And...and sometimes you don't think about you, even when it's necessary. I understand why you need to protect Chat, but I need you to protect yourself, too. I need you. I need you for the rest of my life, because without you, I don't see a future worth actually living for."

He could see the sobs as she began to hiccup between them. "I- I l-love you too.."

That made his heart melt and rise all at the same time. He picked her up, spinning her in dizzy circles as her laugh grew in sound and happiness. He kept repeating the phrase and she returned the sentiment as he peppered her face with kisses. As he set her down on her feet, just running the tip of his nose against her forehead, enjoying the sweet scent of strawberry that must've come from her shampoo. "Just so you know, after Hawkmoth is taken care of, and we're older, I have every intention of marrying you."

She laughed in a way that only she could, and it calmed his raging heart, he hadn't even noticed how fast his heartbeat had been going since seeing her fall. She had been having this effect on him, where a simple touch from her and his entire being would just relax. As if his soul was finally getting some peace. "Isn't that a little too soon, hot stuff?"

He shook his head. "No. No, it isn't. I've known that I wanted you for forever since I saw you defeat stoneheart. And with these past months that we've been dating, I've only fallen more in love with everything that I've learned about you. You've also become one of my best friends. If… if we were to break up, I'd still want you in my life. I would still need you in my life, no matter what. Please tell me you feel that too?"

She did her little tea kettle whine. "Hugo, Emma, Louis. That's what I wanna name our kids. I've had that planned since the beginning of the school year."

His mind almost shut off at that as his mouth hung opened. "Emma?" The floodgates were busted. His mother. That was his mother's name and that was what she wanted to name their first daughter. Their daughter, their child, children from what she made it sound. She wanted more than one with him.

"Tha-that was my mo-"

She nodded. "Your mother's name, Emma would be short for Emilie. I know. That's why….." She trailed off as her head dropped to look at the floor instead.

She knew how important his mother was to him? To the point where she'd name their daughter after her? His heart felt the lightest it had been in a long, long while. He just wanted to drop to his knees and cry into her, finding the comfort that she always brought so freely.

He couldn't help the pull that gravitating him to her lips— it was a soft, brief touch, but conveyed enough of what he felt. He left her lips as his fingers traced the outline of her jaw, keeping his eyes on her soft sparkling eyes. "I'm so so lucky to have you. I'll never be able to say that enough. It's… it's so amazing to have someone that you've loved to actually feel the same."

"Trust me, after falling for you the second day of school, I sorta know the feeling."

They both paused at her words, considering a very key item to a puzzle that they just weren't allowed to finish yet. Ladybug sighed. "I probably shouldn't've said that."

He could tell disappointment was heavy in his eyes, but he tried to keep it light in his tone. "I'll put it away for now. Promise, no double thinking on it."

The lopsided smile was accompanied by just a touch of sadness. "I know. Just sometimes, I do think about leaving you little hints at school. Just little things to nudge you in the right direction. But I can't. It just isn't-"

"Safe. I understand."

Her lopsided smile turned apologetic. He knew she would tell him who she was if she could. "If I could have one thing right now in this world, it'd be for you to know who I am. For us to be us. Well, and Hawkmoth to be defeated, but that goes without saying really."

He laughed. "I know. I'm sorry about the fight earlier. I had no right."

"No." Her tone was strong, determined to see her reason. "You were worried… you've lost people. It's expected that you get scared like that."

He shrugged. "Still, I should've put more faith in you. In the fact that you'll always come back to me. That you'll always come home."

Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and glossed over with salty water, but they were always beautiful. "Yeah, I'll always come home to you. Promise." She clung to him, showing him that in the circle of his arms, was the place where she had found her home.

In a world where not many made that promise to him, she vowed it, and it was the first time in a while that he believed those words. The weight he had been carrying for so long on his shoulders alone, but now it was finally less.

"I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They in love. Give them that happiness. Until tomorrow!


	13. Meeting Gabriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffffy. Last chapter was the turning point. I live for fluff. And it's time to shine with it.
> 
> Even if we have to deal with Gabriel.
> 
> Ugh. I hope you enjoy though!

There were times when Ladybug found that was challenging at times, dating Adrien as her superhero self. Yet, it wasn't for the reason most people probably thought. She definitely didn't regret it one bit, because he was hers at the end of the day, mask or not, that was all she really cared about.

No. The simple reason being the fact that they couldn't be seen together in public. They couldn't be like every other couple that walked down the sidewalk, holding hands while eating ice cream, they couldn't stay up until three in the morning to just talk on the phone, cooing over how much they loved each other. Nor could they go out on double dates with their friends.

As well, meaning she would never be able to meet Adrien's father until she and Chat defeated Hawkmoth. While she didn't care much for the man— if anything at all— it wasn't lost on her that without Gabriel, there would be no Adrien, so she had to give the man some credit, which was why, in the end, she wanted to at least 'officially' meet him once, but doubted that would happen anytime soon.

Or at least that's what she thought.

Again, this brought us back to the idea of why she had been so careful as to keep them within the confines of his room, with the exception of a late night outings every once in a blue moon. Like, at three in the morning, when everyone was asleep.

But here they all were, Adrien's photoshoot of all places, when Gabreial interrupted them in his dressing room, where she had just wanted to give him a simple hug and wish him good luck with his shoot.

The reason for this surprise visit was the tired look he had been trying to hide at school that day, bags under his eyes, sluggish shoulders, and just a smile that refused to stay up. He needed someone, and she promised to always be there for him. She was gonna keep that promise to her last breath.

The second he caught sight of her, the light reignited in his eyes returned, a beautiful contrast from the glimpse she stole earlier at school. His shoulders released the built up tension they held throughout the day as he slumped forward in peace, the first time he was able to do so that entire day. His whole body just sighed at her presence and it brought her some kind of peace of her own knowing that she could do that for him.

Please come home. Come back to me.

Those words still echoed in her head. He wanted to be her home, somewhere she felt safe, loved, and protected, and oh, he would never be able to understand, because she just didn't know how to begin to tell him that just being in his arms made all the akuma's, Hawkmoth, and all the bad guys vanished.

He had been her home for a long time. Her anchor in everything, even when she couldn't quite get the words to form.

In a blink of an eye, he was in front of her, arms already around her waist, causing her face to be pressed up against his chest. She could hear the rhythmic beat of his heart start to slowly descend and his breathing even out, almost like he was falling asleep.

But no, she knew he wasn't falling asleep, he was finally relaxed within her arms because that is what she brought him, that's what she did for him. Whatever bad day he had obviously been having, she made it better within a blink of an eye.

She'd be damned if she didn't do that for the rest of their lives.

She brought her hands up and cradled her fingers through his crusty hair sprayed hair, it was a hard task with all the product in it, but the content sigh he released at the feel of her fingers was more than worth it.

Thus, what landed them here, mid hug— cuddle, more like, but whatever— with Gabriel in the doorway of the trailer. It was all innocent this time— truly— but it was still awkward. Having your boyfriend's strict father walk in mid hug sent shivers down her spine. They all stood still for what felt like several minutes, staring at each other in a painful stalemate. Not a single one of them willing to make the first move.

Gabriel's lifeless gaze not leaving them for a single moment. His face cold as stone, his emotions just as hollow. His posture firm, not giving the two a hint of his actions. The older man cleared his throat seemingly forcing them apart upon hearing him break the silence, forgetting that they had been locked in an embrace to begin with.

Gabriel's face began to contort, making both of the teens wish for the cold stare to return, "So, how long has this been going on?"

The accusation in his tone, instead of getting embarrassed at being caught by his own father, Adrien moved in closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist, stepping in front of her as if to create a barrier between her and his father. "Several months." His words were strong with no room for folly. He meant the words and he used them as a shield for the two of them.

Gaberial's controlled face cracked for a moment, wrinkles forming at the end of a hard frown, before he set his face back into its unreadable position. "I see. You do know I can't let this little charade continue, correct?"

Ladybug had honestly expected that. She also expected Adrien to break down, maybe, hold some tears in his eyes, and agree to his fathers wishes, Simple due to the fact that while the man was cruel at times, he was all he had left in this world outside her nightly visits and a yellow beehive of a, testy, best friend. He had lost his mother, and he had what little remained of the man he called his father. However harsh, she knew that she couldn't take that away from couldn't lose what little part of him that he had left. She couldn't blame him for that.

That's why she was caught off guard when he stepped forward to his father, looking him dead in the eyes and uttered a single word. "No."

His father hadn't been prepared for such a reaction. Neither was she, if she was being honest. "Excuse me?"

His voice echoed through the small trailer yet had lost somewhat of its power.

Adrien wouldn't back down, his lips curling around his teeth in a snarl, reminding her of Chat right before he pounced at an akuma that had targeted at her. "I said no. You can forbid me as much as you want. You can arrange a marriage for all I care. Hell, you can lock me away until I turn to dust. But this once, just this once, I will not back down to you."

Ladybug felt too many emotions rushing through her, but she could pinpoint the shock in Gabriel's eyes. It took him a few minutes to find his words, but when he did, they were harsh, and chilled her to the core. "I'll cut off all your inheritance, disown you. You won't be my son and you'll have no one."

Adrien didn't move a muscle "No, I had no one. When mom passed, you cut everyone out of your life and focused on your work. You gave every bit of responsibility to your assistant who before you lost mom, you didn't even know the name of. You think you can take away my world by taking away your fortune, but if you had actually been there for me, you would know that the happiest I have been since mom's death was with my friends, in a public school, not costing a single penny. So. yeah, go ahead and take your money. Go ahead and take your name. I'd rather be penniless that live the life I have for the past year. Because in that year I have had friends treat me better than you ever have! And her."

He motioned to Ladybug. "I feel safe with her. I feel at home. Let's face it. When mom passed, I lost both of my parents. You have nothing left to take away. I don't care. I'd rather be poor and have her, and happy, than have all the money you could offer, alone, and be miserable."

They were at a stalemate, Ladybug could tell that much, that was before he turned his attention on her. "You have a clear head on your shoulders, don't you? As a superhero, I'd expect nothing less."

She gulped, her mind bouncing back and forth on what to do before her eyes caught Adrienn's pleading ones.

She promised him. She'd never leave, and she vowed to keep it. She wouldn't abandon the love of her life for anything.

She returned his gaze, eyes hard set. "Unless Adrien breaks up — of his own accord— I'm not leaving him. I don't abandon the people that I care about, the people that I love." Her words had a bit more bite to them as she spat them at him, but she hoped she got her point across.

It seemed to work.

He took a step back, before collecting himself and fixing his tie. "Be it as it may, if you wish to continue your little affair, I expect you to at least keep it quite from the press. As well, I expect you make it known publicly that you're in a relationship with Ms. Kagami. You'll have an image to maintain. I don't care if it's a facade, you make it look real or I will find a way to end it. That is my deal"

Ladybug felt her heart just drop to her stomach, but Adrien was quick to pick it up. "That's not going to happen. I'll keep quiet about Ladybug only for our safety from Hawkmoth, but I will not enter a fake relationship with Kagami— one I know you'll do your best in trying to make real."

The older man knew he was caught. "Fine." He turned to make his leave, knowing the shoot started in a few minutes. He turned his head sideways, sparing them one last glance. "I hope you two know what you're getting yourselves into."

The door closed with a window breaking slam.

Ladybug knew she should be worried, that she should be fearful of the fact that someone knew about them, even if it was his dad.

But then Adrien was pulling her against his chest and nothing else was important in the end.

Gabriel was beyond anger, beyond furious, no words for his unyielding rage. His son, his own son was dating his enemy, and he didn't even know it.

* * *

Throughout the shoot, he avoided him. He never felt more disgusted in the fifteen year old. Oh, how he wished he could just ground him. But he knew that wouldn't work.

Adrien would find some way to be with Ladybug, be it now, or in a few years when he was of age to leave. Gabriel knew his son meant every word he had spoken and would stand by them. He never stood his ground like that, and knowing that he did, only confirmed the idea that he was not gonna let Ladybug go.

Hours later, and then the photo shoot was finished, and Vincent came over, ready to show his finished work for approval. With all that today had thrown at Gabriel, and he thought that was the end of it. But there was one more thing, he hadn't been ready for.

The first warm, genuine smile he had seen on his son's face in a very very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, damn son, watcha gonna do, knowing your son's actually happy?
> 
> Probably not care too much, but ya know.
> 
> Until next time! Love you guys. Your reviews give me life! So, thank you!


	14. Pictures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be posting this one that was due yesterday, and the one that's due today. Sorry that I wasn't able to get the prompt out yesterday. It was a long day.

"Cataclysm!"

Dust filled the small area as Chat took long and exhausted breaths. His trailer had been reduced to nothing but scrap metal.

"Plagg, claws in."

The little Kwami swirled around him with a worried look on his face. "Look, kid, I'm all for destroying things just for the fun of it, but don't you think that will have consequences?"

Adrien huffed at the little being, a slight grin wrapping around his face. "Ladybug and Chat had one heck of a battle today. So what if Chat missed his target and got Adrien's trailer instead?"

Plagg floated next to him as he walked around the deserted ally. "I think maybe you should talk to Ladybug a bit more."

His face was blank as he asked, "What about? She was right there when my father went all 'I forbade it'. So yeah, there's nothing else to really say."

The little creature's face contorted at his owner's words. "Uh-hu, and you just blew up that trailer because it was looking at you funny?"

Adrien sighed, knowing the creature wasn't gonna let this one go, but begging him to do all the same anyway. "Plagg, I'm fine. I just need to go get some food, I don't know, maybe a nice salad

* * *

The burger was hot, greasy, and hit his stomach in all the right ways as he placed the order of cheesy fries under the booth, so Plagg would not be seen. "Salad, huh?"

Adrien shot a food-filled smile down at his Kwami. "Yep, and it's the best one I've had in years."

Upon finishing the fried monstrosity, he looked down at the little paper placed on his fast food tray when a single hot tear flickered in his eye. On the paper was a picture of a happy family enjoying a simple, grease filled, meal.

He stared a few more minutes at the picture, fighting back emotions that bubbled in the back of his throat before he spoke. "Let me know when you're done, Plagg. I think I want to head home."

After hearing a belch escape the endless void of Plagg's stomach the two made their way back to the large mansion. The room had never seemed as empty as it did at that moment.

However, it wasn't that way for too long, when Ladybug pounced through his window wrapping him in a breathtaking hug. She seemed to take notice of his off put mood almost right away, then again, when didn't she. "Are you okay? I heard that your trailer got hit by a stray cataclysm."

He shrugged, feeling a little tap against his chest from his Kwami. "Yeah, he must have been off today during the Akuma attack."

Releasing him she stepped toward the window as if signaling him to follow. "What are you doing, Lovebug?"

Even with him as exhausted as he was, he could still see the smile she was desperately trying to hide. "I might have set up a little surprise for you while the sun is still out."

Seeing her little bug-butt wiggle, broke through his anger and rage to form a small smile in the corner of his mouth. "I thought we couldn't go out in the sunlight. I mean 'I do have an image to uphold' after all."

His smile widened when he saw the angry twitch she made upon hearing him quote his father. The fire in her eyes warmed his heart. "Listen here, you little. I have been nabbing your clothes for about a month now and even bought an extra five dollar Ladybug mask-"

"Oh, big spender."

She sneered at him in play for a quick second before continuing. "It's supposed to look fake, dipstick. That way if people see us where we're going they'll think I'm just some nutter in a cheap mask, that you were nice enough to hang out with."

He paused to consider the plan, finding a few flaws within it. "Won't people think you are my girlfriend then?"

Her smile screamed Ladybug confidence, as if she had thought this plan out from A-Z. She probably already had. "I will be wearing your outfit, a ladybug mask, and pigtails. If that doesn't scream stalker than I don't know what does."

He couldn't hold back the laugh that slipped out. "You've got a point."

She punched his arm.

* * *

"You didn't have to agree so quickly."

Chat bounced down from her balcony and into her bedroom. "I'm sorry, but I get a text, out of the blue, I might add, from my little princess that I gave my superhero number to text only for emergencies, that she has questions about some boy that she likes. How am I not going to pounce on this opportunity?"

She smiled at his sly remarks, arms crossed over her chest, one leg over the other as she leaned on the railing of her stairs that lead up to her bed. "You know, word on the street is that you're seeing someone, Should you really be flirting so much with 'your' princess. There are rumors all over Pairs."

He smiled as he shifted his weight on her desk as he kept his expression aloof."I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, what can the master of love do for you tonight?"

She tapped a finger to the bottom of her lip, matching his tone of snark. "Well, first of all, I don't have the money for the master of love, that's why I have you." She shot him a sassy smile at the slight shock that flashed in his eyes. "Yeah that's right, kitty has claws too. Now, I have this boy in my life and he's in a bad place at the moment. I'm just wondering what I can do to break him out of his funk?"

Chat paced back and forth before he shot up in excitement. "Well, I know you're not one for grand romantic gestures, so maybe do something personal for this boy. Something small, but something distinctly Marinette."

* * *

She was hoping it would be more 'distinctly Ladybug' than Marinette.

While the line between the two was beginning to blur, she didn't feel quite ready for that... event, quite yet. More than anything though, she just hoped it would cast out any doubt his father had cast on him about there relationship.

She knew he was strong but she needed to show him that nothing between them had changed. Seeing that frown on his face when she entered only reaffirmed that she was taking the right action.

On the way to their destination, she had placed a pitch black blindfold over him, making sure to walk as to not gain suspicion. Yet, having a blindfold over her boyfriend's face didn't help that much but hey, she was going for stalker, so she definitely hit the right notes.

"Open your eyes, hot stuff!"

He was about to raise his finger, when she realized her mistake, removing the blindfold.

When his eyes adjusted to the twilight hour he saw a small spread of food on a large yellow blanket with white polka dots spread throughout.

He looked at her with awe on his face. "You did all this for me?"

She smiled for just a moment before he snatched up her face pressing his lips against hers.

Gasping for air she let out a quiet, "You're welcome."

As he pulled back and actually scanned the little area in front of them, something unreadable ran through his face, causing his lips to tighten in a straight line as his eyes went hard as a thought was obviously deep in his mind. Something was stirring in his head and Ladybug wasn't sure if she should have been excited or terrified at that.

Then, as quickly as it happened, his face dropped and relaxed back into his happy, easy grin.

As day turned into night, they sat and talked about their day, making sure that the more private information was in code. She tried not to think of what could've possibly been running through his mind when he saw all that she had set up. What possible secret could he.. could've actually gotten from this? She was being ridiculous.

It was probably nothing.

Probably.

* * *

After a while, Ladybug noticed that he kept going back to his phone in the middle of their conversation. While it did sting a little, knowing he was being distracted from her, she knew it wasn't her doing.

Taking a quick glance she saw the image of a blonde woman before he moved his hand to swipe for the next photo. "Adrien, is there anything you want to talk about?" When he didn't answer right away, she took ahold of his chin, guiding his face back to hers. "Please don't shut me out."

He glanced up at her, making sure to keep his phone tilted toward his chest. "I think I'm just-" He paused, realizing who he was speaking to, and sighed. She knew that he knew that she was the one person he'd always be able to talk to. "It's my father, still. He tries to control every aspect of my life, to the point where I don't even feel like I have one at times, and when I do, I know that no matter where I am, I'm just one text away from being called home. Sometimes I wish it was my mother that came home, rather than him."

She could feel a second of shock on her face after hearing him express such a dark concept. "I know he's hard, and I know it doesn't seem like it, but there's still good in him. He's grieving as much as you, he just doesn't know how to express it and while that doesn't make it right maybe-"

He raised his finger "I know what you mean and I don't actually wish it."

Oh, thank goodness because she did not know where to take that.

His eyes went to the tips of his shoes. "It's just hard to deal with him. He lost such a big part of his life, that he is trying to hold onto me with an iron grip but he's not seeing that what he is doing is pushing me away."

He stretched as he let himself fall back on the blanket, simply watching the stars as he spoke softly. "You know, there was a time before this. Before we lost my mom, where they would go on these grand trips and take photos of all these cool places. I would beg them every time to take me with, but they always said the same thing. 'It was too dangerous.' In the end, I guess they were right. When dad returned he was not the same."

His thoughts seemed lost to him as he paused for a mere second. "I don't think he ever really will be. He hid away and took the photos of from their trips with him. I think he was either trying to relive his time with her, or didn't want me to follow in her footsteps. I still have some on my phone if you want to see."

She nodded as he held the phone between them.

His smile grew as he swiped through the photos of his mother and father, always these beautiful places surrounding them, always highlighting the smile and the, oh, gosh, she just noticed the dirty blonde hair on top of his father's head. She was about to point it out when she saw a speck of light shining next to her. looking to Adrien she saw tears streaming down his face refecting the light from his phone.

"Adrien."

He couldn't hear her. He simply kept looking at the screen. Looking back, she saw the photo had changed. The photo wasn't as grand as the others.

No exotic locations, no ancient structures.

Instead, just a simple family sitting at a table for dinner, each one wearing an honest, simple, smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Lemme know y our thoughts! Lots of love!


	15. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is more on the shorter side, because I honestly couldn't see Gberial having dinner with Ladybug, and Adrien and Ladybug can only do so much outside his room, and voila! This was made. I hope you guys still like it.

Ladybug was surprised to find her boyfriend buried underneath a blanket one night on his couch, with a movie, he probably wasn't even paying attention to, on in the background. The lump that she assumed was Adrien under the thick wool was anything but lively. It scared her to a point that something might have been wrong.

Until she poked said lump and jolted upright, arms frailing about until he finally succeeded in removing the top half of the blanket off of his head, his terror instantly melting into happiness at the sight of her. "Could've called out that you were here, lovebug."

She waved her shoulders up and down in a quick motion. "Where's the fun in that?"

He giggled, but she could see something stirring underneath the happiness. Sadness maybe? No, not quite. Something of a mixture of sadness, anger, and just overall, total disappointment. It caused her heart to ache and tear at the seams. "Just father being his cold and distant self. He's being... extra quiet to me though, unfortunately. Now, before you say anything, this is not your fault."

She huffed, grumbling just a little under her breath as she shrunk within herself. "Yeah yeah." Her face grew solum after a second. "I really am sorry about your dad. I stick with what I said about it being grief, but to this degree, he shouldn't be this angry just because we're dating."

She could see the resolve that he was trying to keep shake just a bit in his eyes. "It is what it is. I can't change him, no matter how much I wish I could. I just wish I could enjoy a dinner for once with my own dad once in a while."

She kept silent as thoughts and ideas filtered through her mind, trashing one after another. She was just about to give up when one hit that just made everything click into place. As if a light had gone off in her head.

She could tell the moment Adrien saw the gears in her mind turn and fit perfectly together, because he stared at her, waiting for her to speak. A sneaky smile that she had seen Chat wear so many times during their battles and in general snuck its way onto her lips.

"We're cooking dinner tonight."

* * *

After some convincing with the cooks— a full thirty minutes at that— they had finally granted the two teens free rein on the kitchen and all that was in it, with Ladybug was quick to take advantage of that.

He picked up quickly on what she taught him for cooking. She didn't do anything advanced, or anything close to baking, rather sticking to the basics of how to make a simple homemade meal for two. It wasn't big, or fancy, but it turned out great.

Plus, it was fun to cook with Adrien, to show what she knew so now that he had that knowledge. It was as though she was the mast and he the student. It made her smile to see his smile, so warm, and easy, and just calm— peaceful like. She could tell it was more of the little things that were bringing him joy and she was thankful to see that side of him. The inner joy he was pouring out was incredibly contagious. Not that she minded. No, she was happy to share a smile with her new student.

After some time had passed and the timer rung to alert them the food was finished, Adrien took up the responsibility of grabbing the plates and setting the table, giving her soft pecks when he went back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room.

Just as they had sat the plates and bowls of food down, and took their seats from across each other, Gabriel entered the room, seeing as he was just merely passing by until he noticed their presence.

The father and son had a strange staredown, waiting for the other to break, and to her relief, that had been Gabriel. "I see you and Ladybug are… having dinner. I'll leave you to it." He nodded, and made a hasty exit, while trying to keep his composure.

She smiled as Adrien reached across the table and grasped his hand into hers, making sure to reassure her that he was okay and that he had been expecting that.

Ladybug knew that as long as she breathed, she would make sure Adrien would never have to another dinner alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because what do you do when your enemy is sitting at your table, eating dinner with your son, who she's dating?
> 
> Well, you definitely don't try to go for the earrings, but ya know. He's probably very tempted, Oh well.
> 
> Probably shouldn't mention the ring on his son's finger either, just in case.


	16. Blush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blushy teens in love. Gotta love that fluffffff.
> 
> Please enjoy!

Over the course of the next few long weeks, Ladybug had been allowed, invited, begged on occasions, by Vincent to come join Adrien in his photoshoots. Much to Gaberial's dismay, and Ladybug's delight, Vincent made sure they were all closed off to the public, making sure not a soul saw the two of them together, other than himself.

His reason for her presence, well that was simple, she was an amazing help. Adrien was far more attentive during the shoots, his smile came easier, it was brighter than he'd ever seen it since he started working with the boy. It brought an overall feeling of peace to the shoot, and with all that they had to get done for upcoming charity events, Vincent didn't have time to address his father's games.

* * *

So, that was how she was there, in a concealed, closed off part of the city park, sitting on a nearby bench, where they had put up barriers, Adrien's photographer may have been a bit of an…. Outgoing person, crazy and fun, but he took her privacy seriously and knew that she didn't want the world to know that she and Adrien were dating, making sure to take great precaution to that.

As Adrien was in the middle of his shoot, Ladybug had decided to bring along a sketch pad— making sure to erase anything 'Marinette' on it— and began doodling little ideas she had throughout the day— while she looked up every now and then to watch the shoot from her short distance away— even adding on to old drawings that she thought needed touching up on.

A few changes to her future wedding dress were made, she usually upgraded or tweaked it just a bit when her taste would change with time. The clock seemed to be moving at a crawl as her pencil scratched across the paper.

"What're you up to?"

Ladybug nearly jumped off the bench at the new voice that had broken through her concentration.

Adrien stood before her, an amused smile painted on his face at the sight of her flailing around. Thinking fast she caught all her writing utensils before they could hit the ground. She shot the boy a quick glare. "Just working on something."

His grin turned catty as he moved to take a seat next to her. "Oh? And just what are you working on, lovebug?"

She hugged the book to her chest, daring him to face the consequences if he even tried to come closer. "Nothing that your pretty eyes need to see."

He pouted, channeling his best kitten eyes, and she knew her resistance wouldn't hold for much longer with that look. Stupid boyfriends with their stupid cute kitty eyes.

He could give Chat a run for his money.

As minutes pass, he didn't relent his hold on her from his unblockable kitty eyes, so she let out a defeated sigh and let the notebook fall to her lap.

While she doesn't often blush around Adrien anymore, when his eyes began to scan page after page of its contents, she couldn't fight back the heat that slipped through and pooled around her face.

Luckily, she had been smart enough not to draw herself in the dress— that would be for when she was further along with the drawing, she made a mental note to make sure he wouldn't see that one until after she revealed herself.

And when his knee— his whole body, really— started bouncing in excitement at what he found, she knew he liked what he saw. "This is amazing." He breathed out, not able to put much volume to his voice as he was in too deep in what he held in his hands.

"If you want," she said as she fiddled with her fingers. "You can look at the rest. This notebook doesn't have anything too intimidating as far as my identity goes in it."

She was so happy she brought a different book with her.

He eyed her, gauging if she was actually okay with it or not. "You sure?"

The left side of her lips lifted into a lopsided smile. "Definitely."

At her permission, he flipped through page after page, both teens blushing, laughing, or teasing at whatever was found.

Plans of the future were drawn heavily in. Things like what kind of furniture they would have, as crazy as that sounded, along with other things like pets— she was happy to know that Adrien completely agreed on a pet hamster— where they wanted to live, no place big or fancy, but enough room to raise a nice size family, and live out the careers they wanted..

She kept the career part short, just saying she had an interest in fashion and asked that it was left at that, which of course, he agreed. He still wasn't sure of what he wanted to do, but as she told him before, there was no big rush, and the several things she had listed as possible careers for him were just thoughts that were spurred from what he seemed to have an interest in, and no more than ideas.

She would make sure that he did whatever he wanted for a career, as long as it was what he wanted.

He kissed her for that, pulling back only a little to whisper, "Thank you. I love them. All of them with the thought put in."

She returned the sentiment, "Of course."

He turned back to the book in his lap, gaze eager. A few more pages, a few more giggles and talking about all that she had planned since she had started crushing on him. So many idea's and wild dreams that had once and a while, gotten away from her, but looked nice on the page, but hey, Adrien seemed to enjoy them.

Then, he got to the last page, one she knew by heart without even thinking on it.

A page where Emma, Louis, and Hugo resided on.

She watched as Adrien's heart jumped into his eyes and he battled the tears that wanted to spring from his eyes as he studied the page. His face flushed red as his bottom lip began to tremble in little waves, but she knew it was for happiness, rather than sadness.

His fingers brushed over the page several times, as if he was trying to grasp the three, as if he wanted to pull them right out of the page.

She even had outfits designed out for them. Emma had on a Chat Noir inspired hoodie, the little kitten ears sewn into the the hood and green pawprint stamped on the front.

The boys were cuddled in obvious Ladybug hoodies as well. With the main material being red with black polka dots embroidered throughout. It had to be her favorite page, and apparently, it was Adrien's as well as he choked back the sob that wanted to break through.

"Y'know," Her own voice didn't have much volume of its own either, her emotions were too high as well. "I've had this sketchbook for close to a year now, and goodness knows how many eraser lines I have in there, but they always seem to be the less tampered with."

She had so many fantasies of him, of them over the year. So many crazy thoughts and dreams that she wanted. But one thing always remained the same, it was him and her, throughout countless possibilities.

Then they started dating and things changed, and Ladybug found that she really didn't mind it, because as they changed, they also grew, and became better, and real, and something more than just a fantasy.

Taking her hand, she ran her fingers the length of his jaw until it cupped him, asking him silently to look at her, which he compiled. "But you wanna know something?"

He inhaled and exhaled. "Sure?"

"I don't know how things might change in the future, we may change, and we'll continue to change. Things aren't gonna stay the same. This proves it that much." She pointed to the book. "I don't know how our love is gonna be different in 20 years because we're gonna be different. Our relationship won't be the same as it is now, but throughout that charge, I do know one thing."

"And what's that?"

She leaned in closer. "I'm gonna be right there by your side when it does."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know your thoughts! Lots of love, see ya tomorrow!


	17. Aspik

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy!

She had been waiting over an hour for Chat. The akuma was horrible, she just couldn't beat it, and Chat wasn't answering any of her calls, or texts, it was just getting her angrier by the second. Where was that cat? She understood he had a life too, but it was three in the morning and she really needed her partner.

As she dodged attacks, blasts, and punches, she scrambled for an idea. She couldn't do this alone, she was exhausted as it was.

As she ran through the streets, jumping from building to building to lure the akuma away from the busy part of Paris, the thought that she needed to recruit someone occurred to her. But who, who would be okay with fighting this late at night?

A grin broke out as a certain someone came to mind.

Oh, she hoped Master Fu would allow it.

* * *

He was in a deep, peaceful sleep when a hard noise sounded against his window, causing him to tumbled out of the bed. When he looked to where the knock was coming from he saw the silhouette of his girlfriend outline in the faint moonlight.

He scrambled up to his feet, moving to open the window and letting her in. He instantly was worried, it was one of the days where she couldn't come over for visits, and it was late. "What's going on?"

She huffed, clearly out of breath. "I-I-akuma. No Chat." Oh no. She had been trying to get ahold of him. " Need help. Miraculous."

His heart dropped to his stomach at the familiar sight of the box. She wanted him to fight with her. What if she noticed his ease with a miraculous, or looked at him in a weird way once he had a mask on. What if she figured it out?

But, there was no time for worrying. She needed him, and he slept through her trying to call for Chat. He needed to do this, now.

As he opened the box, a snake like kwami came orbing out. He knew he didn't have to act surprised at least. He had seen Tikki plenty of times.

The kwami stretched as he was freed from his miraculous. "Hello. My name is Sass. It's nice to meet you. To transform, you say scales on."

Adrien took the jewelry and put it on, a little excitement bubbling through at the idea at trying a different miraculous. "Nice to meet you too, Sass."

The little snake took his finger, and gave it shake.

He was about to call on the transformation, and that was when Sass's eyes went downward, catching sight of something that caused his gaze to shift to mischief and gleaming. Adrien followed his eyes and almost gulped at what his sight had caught.

Sass was looking at his ring. His miraculous. And he didn't wait to pounce at the opportunity. "Why are you using mine when you have the-"

"Sass, scales on!"

Adrien couldn't help the pride that crawled its way through his body at the sight of Ladybug watching him transform. With her cute small lips parted just a bit and her eyes set hard on him. It was something he wanted to lock it away forever in his mind.

With no times to lose, they raced out the window, and went to where the destruction was taking place.

* * *

With the job completed, she raised a closed fist to his, asking for a pound it, and who was he to refuse her, even if it kinda worried him that it might give a sense of deja vu.

Her eyes did look a little too long when their fist connected, but she brushed it off, as she seemed to do with anything that could make him seem similar to Chat.

He wondered what it was going to be like once she found out. Would she adjust easily? Would it take some time? He understood if it would, it was a pretty big thing to wrap one's mind around. He just hoped she wouldn't stay away for too long if she needed space.

As her hand fell back to her side, her weight shifted inward, almost like she was afraid or worried about a sudden thought that must've struck her mind. "I hope Chat's okay. It' s not like him not to answer."

"I'm sure he's fine." Because he was. "Maybe he had an exhausting day and slept through your calls or something."

That pulled a little smile from her. "Maybe." She paused as she gave him a one over. "We should come up with a name for you."

He was taken aback by her sudden change of subject. "Hm. Okay." He rubbed at his chin as he thought of a new name. "How about," His face began to contort as a pigeon flew right in front of his face. "ASPIK!" He sneezed.

She cooed at the name, eyes sparkling with renewed energy. "Aspik, hmm. I like it."

He began to frantically wave his hands around. "That was a sneeze and you know it!"

She gave him a playful smile. "No, givesies backsies." She sing-songed

He let out a sigh of defeat. Yeah, this night had definitely been an adventure.

* * *

As he snuggled into bed, and Ladybug long went for home with the miraculous, he transformed with Plagg, and read all the worries texts from Ladybug.

To ease her worry, he shot off a text of his own. Hey, sorry. I think I caught a bug. I'm sorry about not answering your calls or text. I've been dead asleep.

The last part was true until she had woken him.

He heard his baton give off one beep, showing he had received a text from his partner.

It's okay.

He smiled at her reassurance. Another text came through.

I'm just really glad you're okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romantically or not, she still loves and cares for her partner. Until tomorrow! Lots of love! Please lemme know your thoughts.


	18. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cause trust is important in any relationship.
> 
> Fluffy forever!
> 
> BTW— Plagg was totally a jealous kwami in the last chapter after Adrien had used Sass.
> 
> He'll never admit to the cuddles he demanded from Adrien after that ;)

It had been one of those days. One of those days where nothing was going right and she just didn't know where to turn to. She and the committee had to start planning for the upcoming school dance, and it just wasn't coming together.

The orders for the party decorations, which was what she was in charge of— along with food and tickets— were just out of budget, which Marinette told herself that it was fine. She'd find cheaper options and make what the school couldn't afford. It seemed like a simple enough task.

But, as it turned out, the budget was worse than she thought. Alya, Rose, and Juleka were in charge of music, lighting, party favors, and the total cost was just too expensive, anything that would make for a fun dance. She was the class president, and everyone was counting on her, That, on top of akuma's and wanting to see Adrien at night, everything was just adding up and she just didn't have a clue as to what to do.

The girls were of course, helping with the budget as well, trying to find alternatives to get everything affordable, but her name would be on all the papers, thus leaving her to be the fallout person if something were to go south.

For once, she just didn't have a solution.

* * *

She didn't care how silly she looked as she flew through Adrien's window that night and face planted herself on his bed, groaning in relief as her bones were finally able to settle from all the work they've been put through the past week.

She could hear Adrien chuckle somewhere in his room, but couldn't bring herself to care enough to lift her head from the bed. "Long day, lovebug?"

She groaned once more. "Try long week." She stressed.

She could feel him next to her as he crawled on to the bed and began to run light soft circles into her back. "What's all going on?"

She shifted onto her side, and propped her head up with her hand and using her elbow for balance. "A lot of stuff. The school's doing a dance next month, right?" She really didn't care about identities. She didn't care about anything at this point. She needed to vent. "Well, I'm on the committee, and our budget is really low. If one dollar is misused in how the school wants, my name is on all the papers, and I'll be the one to take the fall."

She cuddled into him, crushing her face against his chest, letting out a muffled scream.

She felt just a tad calmer when he started to run his hands through her hair. "You're lucky I've been homeschooled most of my life, I don't know who the fallback guy would be if there were money trouble for that kind of thing."

Ladybug knew she had said too much, but Adrien didn't know, and he wouldn't pry into it either, and for that, she knew she had to be thankful. "Yeah, guess being lucky is kinda my thing."

He laughed so hard with that one she saw his stomach roll with each wave of laughter that heaved out of his chest. "Seems like it."

Things calmed after that. Silence fell over them and she took a moment to let her racing heart sync with his even light breaths. A system she quickly discovered months ago that helped a lot in getting herself to calm. "Gotta love school budgets." She rolled her eyes.

His voice was low, sleep invading the pitch of his words, "Yeah. But I know you can do it. You always find a solution. You know, I'll help out any way that I can. Trust me."

She was going to correct him, tell him that there wasn't any way that he could help, but as his breathing evened out more, she could tell Adrien was falling asleep. So, texting her parents, she told them she was gonna stay the night at Alya's, she tucked it safely away and went into the bathroom to detransform for the night.

She knew Adrien was right, she'd find a way to get this fixed, but not being able to fix something as soon as she liked, sometimes drove her a bit crazy. It was her responsibility, her duty. She had people that counted on her, and she didn't want to let them down.

But in the end, she also knew she was only one person.

* * *

Marinette was so exhausted that following Monday at school. She was at the end of her wits and was really unsure what to do next.

When the committee was called to have a meeting, she knew she didn't have much to present on the budget factor. Everyone had been scrounging for a way to get the budget up, but to no avail, they were all sunk.

Marinette felt so tiny in that moment. She was supposed to do this, she was supposed to get all the things she promised, done. It was on her shoulders, and she fell through, miserably.

As class rep, fully ready, and accepting that she would have to take defeat on this one, she stood from her seat.

But then, something unexpected happened, as it always seemed to.

Adrien walked right in on the meeting, smile steered ready, as if he was prepared for an argument to be thrown his way and to fight back on it. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his heels as he came to the front where she, Alya, and another girl from a different class sat.

In his hand, was a small piece of paper— what was on it, she couldn't tell from her viewpoint— and was grasped tightly in his hand. She didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. "Okay, I really don't wanna know who's in charge of the budget," The speed of which he spoke could make a cheetah seem slow, "But I would like to donate to the budget for the school to help with the upcoming dance."

The room was thick with silence. Not even a breath could be heard.

Alya was the first to speak up. "O-okay, sunshine. You just have to fill out a couple forums so that it's kept record of." She left her seat to go grab a tablet.

Oh no.

_I have my name written all over that paper._

He wouldn't, she knew that. At least, not on purpose. But this, what was he doing? He knew her name was on it, he couldn't avoid this.

Alya returned a second later, handing the tablet off to Adrien to sign his name.

Adrien Agreste then did the second most shocking thing to have ever graced Marinette's eyes.

While keeping his eyes locked on the wall behind her, he asked Alya to guide his hand to where he was supposed to sign, which she did— a bit confused.

_Trust me._

The words played over and over again. He had her identity in the literal palm of his hand, and yet he refused to look, he had her trust in his hands, and he was making sure to take extra care of it. Add that to the fact that what he was doing in the process was helping her with something that he knew was stressing her out for over a week.

She didn't think she could love this boy more, even if she tried.

* * *

The day of the dance arrived swiftly after that.

Marinette was decked out in a simple knee length pastel pink dress with a halter top. Alya insisted she let her hair down in loose curls to impress Adrien— Ha! If only she knew— and she topped it off with light makeup.

Alya wore a similar dress, but her color started with a deep red at the bodice and faded into a light orange at the bottom. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun, with a few strands that were framing her face.

Alya grabbed her phone to check the time. "C'mon, girl. We gotta go. Our friends are waiting for us."

Slipping into her flats, Marinette allowed her best friend to pull her to the stairs and down to the living room, making a straight line to the door that lead out onto the street. "Alya, you're going ninety miles per hour. Slow down just a little, before you rip my arm off."

Alya smirked. "Maybe you can swing a dance from a certain Mr. Hot stuff." And sent a wink to the blushing future designer.

Oh, what the journalist didn't know.

* * *

The boys greeted them the moment they stepped foot into the school, party already in full swing. They offered to get both of them a drink, which they accepted, and left to get the beverages.

"So." That smirk was back on Alya's face once more. "Are you gonna ask him for a dance?"

Marinette diverted her eyes anywhere but her best friend. "I don't know, Als. You know how I get. I think I'm just gonna enjoy the dance tonight. Not worry about anything else."

The blogger watched her carefully, studying her. "If you say so, girl."

Nino and Adrien picked that moment to return with the drinks, and effectively, ending her conversation with Alya.

She had been waiting the entire night for a perfect opportunity for him to be alone, and finally, three hours after arriving at the dance, he had stepped out to get some fresh air .

With his back to her, she snuck up behind and placed her hands over his eyes, and brought her lips to his ear. "We gotta go someplace a little quieter so no one can see us." And began to trugg him forward to a little hidden cove off from the school.

When she felt that they were a safe distance away from their friends and classmates, she uncupped his eyes. "Now, I still need you to keep your eyes closed. I don't have a mask on."

He chuckled a little. "No problem, lovebug. What're we doing exactly?"

She pulled her phone from her purse and swiped through her playlist that she had created for this. "Well, we can't exactly dance around people without you finding out, or people wondering why we're dancing together in the first place with your eyes closed, so I figured here was a good as place as any."

He smiled softly as the music reached his ears, and his arms instantly went to slip around her waist, eyes still snapped shut. "Why no mask, though? Aren't you worried I might see?"

A little giggle escaped her as she mirrored him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "No, Adrien. I trust you. Completely."

His smile stretched, and she knew she would be able to see it in his eyes if they were opened. He pulled her closer, allowing her to rest her head on his chest and his cheek against her head. The spring night air flowing around them and brushing against the exposed parts of their skin was a calming warm touch that made everything that more special.

She knew that she had gone to him once before unmasked, right after his photoshoot, but this felt so different, so much more real. It was dangerous and right all at the same time, but she knew the risks, and accepted them. Just for this night.

Marinette wasn't stupid, she knew if Adrien wanted to, he could pull back and open his eyes, but she trusted that he loved her enough that he wouldn't.

And he kept to that.

They swayed back and forth, causing her mind to actually breathe for the first time in so long since she started planning this dance with the rest of the committee. She could finally relax and let the stress lift off her shoulders for a while.

As the song changed to the next, Adrien did pull back to rest his forehead against hers, but his eyes remained shut. She pressed one or two soft kisses to his lips and basked in the knowledge of how his breath hitched a little. "Thank you for not looking."

The air from his laugh skimmed her face. "Of course, lovebug. Even though it's very tempting to see how beautiful you look in your dress."

She inhaled. "I didn't mean right now."

If possible, he pulled her closer. "I'd never do anything to break your trust. I'm lucky to have it in the first place. So, thank you— for trusting me."

The song slowly came to an end. "Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you guys enjoyed. Lemme know your thoughts and see you tomorrow!
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. I just want to say, that I in no way think that money is what fixes problems, the main focus of this was to show the trust between LB and Adrien with her identity.


	19. Love Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thats a wrap for the night! Sweet dreams! Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, after her head was completely clear, Ladybug totally kicked his butt for donating money.

He never meant for the letters to get out. But things happened— they always did. Thankfully, he was never too stupid enough to sign any of them, in the fear that his luck would eventually lead him to this, because they did hold some pretty incriminating things, about Ladybug, him, and their relationship.

Plagg had forbidden from him to write anything about Chat in his letters, to which Adrien had obeyed, simply because in that nanosecond, the little kwami of destruction actually scared him for the first time.

"Puny human I have seen civilizations fall by the wrath of my own hands. Caused the extinction of the most powerful mortals this planet has ever seen and if given the proper reason could wipe out this entire continent from the map! To me, you are a mere ant among giants. Do you understand me, child?!"

Afterword the teen threatened to take away his cheese making the entire talk moot, but hey, it was still a very intimidating thirty seconds

Yet, that was beside the point. The big, humongous problem here was the fact that he knew Ladybug knew his writing by heart, she would recognize the writing in the letters. She would know some of his deepest, darkest secretes, and how he felt since day one. It was one thing to tell her what he knew was safe.

It was an entirely different thing to have everything he thought just blown wide open like it was.

Letters that were plastered on the smartboard, curiosity of one Lila Rossi— her reason being that she wanted to find the poor innocent and in love soul that had written the letters and return them to their proper owner.

He didn't know how she had found out, or what Lila's ulterior motive was, but he knew it wasn't any good.

Now, with all of his letters exposed, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

What came next was even worse. Adrien just couldn't understand how Ms. Bustier was sitting back and letting that happen in the first place. Lila began to read the entries.

"Hey, Ladybug." Her voice made his stomach curl. "So, I saw you today, and I just couldn't help thinking how the universe must feel so proud of itself to have you in it."

The entire class erupted into laughter. He just felt so many things. Embarrassment, anxiety, and just plain rage.

Another one appeared on screen. "Oh," Lila brought her hands to her mouth, in fake awe. Everyone except two, believed her act. "This one is so cute! Dear, Ladybug. Sometimes I wish I knew what it would be like to get lost in your ocean blue eyes. It's definitely one sea that I wouldn't mind getting drown in."

His classmates here were gasping now. Some even tumbled out of their seats and onto the floor. There was only person that wasn't laughing, or even giggling for that matter. She held onto a stone cold stare that could make his father look like a cute little butterfly.

"Next one." Lila sing-song. "Dear Ladybug, I just got a note from a friend, and I couldn't help but notice the similarities between them and the Valentines day card you gave me. Oh, I hoped it was you at least. But, I doubt that now.

I doubt it was from her, too, seeing as she likes someone else. Heh, wouldn't that just be funny if she was you. I'd never have a chance."

His friends seemed to sober up at that, some cooing in delight, some in sympathy, but no one completely understanding.

Lilia gasped at the next one she found. "You guys gotta hear this one." She cleared her throat. "Dear Ladybug, we're together, as in, actually together. It turns out you like me. Your civilian self, likes me. And I never noticed. I'm sorry. I wish I did. I wish I knew who you were. But I have this for now. I have you. That's all I really want at the end of the day."

He inhaled, and the person behind him seemed to do the same for some reason.

"This one is perfect." Lila's gleaming eyes made him wanna hug Hawkmoth more than sit through this. "Dear Ladybug. It turns out you did send me that Valentines Day card. Which throws out my little, joke of an idea to your identity. Because I know she likes someone else. The girl that sits behind me likes someone else from when I went on a double date with her.

I'm really excited that I was right, it was from you. I should be happy. I am.

But a part of me can't deny a little sadness that it wasn't he-"

"Stop it!"

The room went dead silent as all eyes went to Marinette, who stood up from her desk, face flushed deep red and expression hard set. "This is someone's personal letters, do you really think it's right to read something so privet. I get you trying to return it's to the rightful owner, but do you really think someone is gonna claim these, especially after saying that they're dating Ladybug!?"

Everyone looked ashamed after that. Ms. Bustier seemed to snap out of it as well, and told Lila that was enough and it was time to start class again.

Adrien never wanted to go home so much in that very second.

* * *

When he heard her enter his room that night, she doesn't even say anything, just calls off Tikki, and strides over to him where he's snuggled under the covers, and crawled into bed with him. After she was under his covers, she molds her body to his from behind, offering comfort the best way that she could.

It helped, but then again, she always did.

They stayed there for a little while. He wasn't sure how long they stayed there, just that it was for a very long time, with her warm arms slung around his waist, and their fingers intertwined.

Eventually, she did break the peace. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

He sighed, turning over to face her. "It happened. I'm just sorry that you had to hear all that."

She shook her head, pressing her lips to his softly. "I'm okay. I was just worried about you. That was private. It doesn't matter if your name was on it or not, you still know."

She booped his nose, and he just laughed it off. "Lovebug, you do know that I don't mind who you are, right? I love you. No matter what."

Her smile was easy and real making him be able to breathe a just a little easier. "I know, hot stuff. Do… do you still wish I was Marinette? Honest answer."

He sighed, cupping her head to bring her forehead to his lips. "Yeah. I promise, I'll be happy with whoever you are, but if I could choose, it'd be her."

He pulled back to watch her face, waiting for any sign of her mood shifting in one way or another, but she controlled herself. Nothing to show, but a neutral face.

He bonked his nose against hers. "Nothing from that?" He teased her.

She said nothing, but her lips cracked into a smile before she tucked her head into his neck.

He figured she was gonna try to fall asleep for the night before she whispered:

"Just keep your eyes open at school. You'll figure it out soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost there. Trust me. Lemme know your thoughts as usual.


	20. Soft Touches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Looks into camera like in the office.* Ya'll ready? 'Cuase I'm ready.
> 
> Time to have some fun.

She had learned very early on in their relationship that Adrien craved touch. He loved to be cuddled, held, hugged, anything. With him, Marinette was more than happy to accommodate.

His favorite of all touches, though, were soft ones.

After she found a way to detransform in front of him, keeping her identity intact, she discovered how he loved gentle touches. Holding her hand, softly running her fingers across his cheek, at the base of his neck to play with the little tuffs of his hair that stuck out.

She loved how he would lean into her touch without a single word spoken between them. Like it wasn't even a thought, she just attracted him whenever she stepped into the room.

Almost like a cat to catnip.

Chat would be proud.

After the whole debacle with the love letters and Lila, she had spent the night holding Adrien, making sure to soothe him and be there for him in every way she could. It hurt that she couldn't be there for him in school, but just maybe… she could do something about that.

But first things first, she had to talk to one energetic kitty.

* * *

Ladybug had woken him around two in the morning to tell him that she needed to talk to Chat.

One could guess how fast that had woken him up. He shooed her away, saying that it was perfectly fine and pecked her lips goodbye before she leapt from his window and swung away into the night.

Before he knew it, he was transformed and was getting a call on his baton telling him to meet on a particular rooftop they used in they're patrols. Confusion bubbled in his stomach as to why she wanted to meet in the first place. She hadn't said anything prior to Adrien as to why. It honestly came out of nowhere.

She was already there when he arrived, pacing back and forth, head turned downward as if she was lost in her own head. From the looks of it, she probably was. It put him just a bit on edge.

She stopped her pacing the moment she took notice of his presence, her face utterly blank. Nothing was written on it, not even in her beautiful eyes, and that terrified him. The face she made was the same as when she would steel herself for an intense battle.

It didn't seem as if she was going to take the first step, so he took it upon himself to take it for her. "Bugaboo, are you okay?"

She seemed perplexed by that, gaze locked on his. It seemed like an eternity before she finally spoke. "I'm.. I don't know, kitty. I think I'm alright. But…we need to talk. I think I'm ready to tell my boyfriend who I actually am underneath the mask."

His eyes shot open, mouth dropping to the floor. She wanted to what now? Really?

Looking back at her he desperately tried to hide the excitement in his voice. "O..oh. That's wow. That's..unexpected. What.. what made you come to that decision?"

She sighed, moving closer to him. "I'm… I'm tired, kitty. I'm tired of not being with my own boyfriend in school. I don't know how much longer I can do this to him." His heart skipped a beat. Had she considered breaking up with him? "I know I don't wanna break up with him." And… heart reset. Man, that was a relief. "But.. but I need to do this. I wanna be with him fully and I can't do that behind a mask."

He couldn't help but agree with her one hundred percent. Yet he couldn't understand why was she telling Chat this? "Why… why me? Why not just tell him?"

She closed her eyes, heaving her chest before locking back onto him. "Because I'm gonna tell you first."

"W-what?"

A soft grin fluttered onto her lips. "Kitty, you're my partner. I love him, with all my heart." She brought her hands to her chest. "But you need to know first, and I wanna tell you here and now-"

"No!"

He didn't mean the way his words flew from his lips, nor the volume behind it, but he wanted to get it out as fast as he could. Because she wanted to tell Adrien, she was tired of lying to him, but Chat? He was honored that she would choose to tell him first but, no. Telling Chat may have been an act of respect but it was also one of duty and not love. So as much good intent as she put behind it, he couldn't have her waist this reveal on him.

He could tell she was taken aback by his response and he quickly went to fix that. "I mean, I know you wanna tell him. So please, tell him first. If you do tell me one day, it should be something you want to tell me, Not something you need to. I hope you understand, my lady."

Her back straightened and went into his personal space, face to face, hardly a breath away from him. "You listen to me here, Chat Noir." Oh no, he was in trouble. "I'm telling you because I want to, not because I have to. I've been preparing myself for hours to my kwami. I'm ready, I can do this."

But he could tell how nervous she was. How she was bouncing just slightly on her heals at the mere thought that she was gonna tell him. He wouldn't have that. "Bug, you don't have to worry. I want you to tell your boyfriend first. Maybe telling someone you love will give you the courage to be able to tell me."

Her eyes narrowed at that. "I love you, kitty. Don't think any less than that."

He chuckled. "But not in the way that you love him, and that's okay. Tell him first, bugaboo. Then come and see me. I promise, my feelings won't be hurt. You'll feel better then. I promise."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice again. "You've always wanted to know."

He nodded. "I still do. But I've waited this long. I can wait more. This is what you need. And hey, after you're done kissing your boyfriend senseless," She rolled her eyes at that. "I'll be right here, waiting."

She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth raising her finger at him. "O-okay. But right after. Not a moment later, you need to know, too."

He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes gleaming. "Of course. Now, go home and rest those ocean blue eyes of yours."

At those words, something weird happened. Her breath hitched, and eyes widening just a little. Then she brought her hands up to cup his cheeks, and it almost reminded him how she handled Adrien with such care and love when she knew he needed it.

She then… studied him. Her eyes searched his face as they dipped in confusion, as if she was trying to fit a very complicated puzzle piece together.

She must've found the missing piece that fit just perfectly, because her light gasp was full of both empathy and understanding. He could see the gears in her head turn and audibly click. Her thumb grazed his cheek the same way she gave Adrien his soft touches and it made his heart fumbled.

"You're right," She breathed, her words carried on air before her lips melted into a smile. "I'll tell him." She moved to leave… her body oddly stiff.

He gently grabbed her wrist before she was out of his reach. "Out.. out of curiosity, when are you going to tell him?"

When she turned back to face him, he wasn't expecting the smirk that was dancing on her mouth. "I think," she moved back to where he could feel her breath on his lips again. "I think I'm gonna play with him." One finger moved up and flicked his bell. "Have some fun with him. After all, we gotta square everything away with all this identity stuff, right? It's time to have some fun now. So, no, actually. Not yet."

He gulped.

She left without another word. Sashaying away before she flew off on her yo-yo.

Chat wasn't sure what exactly happened in that moment, but he could tell this was gonna be a long game of cat and mouse.

The only question was, who was the cat, and who was the mouse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna play a game?
> 
> Guess who the cat is. Guess who the mouse is.
> 
> We'll just have to find out now, won't we?
> 
> I know I made this part a little like in 'just friends' but I really hope I made it a difference in their dynamic and how this is gonna turn out as a whole. I hope you liked it at least? Please let me know. I'm actually kinda worried about it.


	21. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fun's just beginning. Let's get this show on the road! :D

The moment it clicked he became her toy. Not forever, but for the time she had him in this particular position she was going to have her fun. She was gonna tease him, play with him. Bait the poor boy. Oh, he didn't have a clue. That right there, that was the fun part. She might leave little hints here and there, she couldn't be too cruel, but certainly, nothing to give it away, no, not until she was done with the game and he told him herself.

Was she surprised that Adrien was Chat? Well, maybe for a second, but then she looked at him, actually looked at Chat Noir with eyes opened wide, and all she could see was Adrien. He was there, underneath that mask, the goofy, sweet, caring, and good hearted boy was also her dorky, brave, and loving partner.

She truly couldn't ask for anything better.

Boy, this was gonna be fun. Turned out, secrets could have benefits

* * *

Adrien was on his toes when he went to school the next day.

He still couldn't understand what Ladybug had meant when she said she was going to play with him, or where the shift in her mood even came from. He was baffled, and now his guard completely up.

But he couldn't deny the jumble of excitement stirring in his stomach.

His eyes were searching everywhere, looking for her. She was going to toy with him, and the Chat in him purred at that, because if she wanted to play, he was game.

The bell went off to usher the kids to class. He followed the flow of his classmates entering the room and taking his seat next to Nino.

Alya and Marinette entered just seconds later, causing some shock to the young model, Marinette was never on time. Maybe she was trying to be punctual? As she passed, he caught her glance his way before she made her way up the stairs to her seat.

The look in her eyes was.. unsettling. But he ignored it and brushed it off.

With class not having started yet, he could hear the light chatter of his classmates buzz around the room. Adrien decided to pull his tablet from his bag. He scrolled over his homework, checking for any errors. He was doing nothing out of the ordinary when his ears picked up a conversation behind him.

"So, Luka officially asked you out?"

Adrien restrained himself to keep forward, whatever the two girls were discussing, it wasn't his business.

Nope, nothing for his ears.

But what Marinette said next, made him crank his neck— just a little.

"Yeah, but I turned him down. I just… I don't like him any more than a friend. You know who I actually have feelings for."

He didn't want to turn around. And he didn't, simply because the teacher came in at that exact moment. But that didn't stop the words from replying in his head.

_I don't like Luka._

He had convinced himself over that for so long that she had.

_I don't like Luka._

He figured, it'd be easier to set that in his head now, than be disappointed later.

_I don't like Luka._

He had to take a moment to compose his mind.

Marinette liking Luka was the only piece of evidence that didn't link her to the valentines day card. The only reason that she couldn't like him, Adrien! Ladybug couldn't be Marinette because Marinette didn't like Adrien and Ladybug loved Adrien and now the equation was all out of whack with nothing given but a gosh dang migraine!

But.. that still didn't prove she was Ladybug, right? He wasn't that lucky. He just couldn't be.

But something in the back of his mind was nagging him, telling him that if he had just turned around in his seat, he would've seen that familiar smirk that Ladybug had given him last night on Marinette's face.

* * *

The day continued to drag on.

He couldn't get the thought out of his head, trying his hardest to pay attention in class, but it just wasn't working. He felt like a mindless zombie at the end of the period. Even when he went home to eat for the lunch hour, it was robotic, at best.

And it only got worse from there.

When he returned back to school, Marinette was everywhere, and okay, he was used to seeing her often, but he wasn't used to was the zero percent personal space that she had been giving him all day. She was always giving him weird looks, smiles, friendly pats or something of the sort. It was to the point where he questioned if an akuma was running loose and she had gotten hit by it.

They were now two classes away from the end school for that day, and he was in the locker room, switching out some of his thoughts, when he picked up on someone's voice, and...crying? Someone was definitely crying.

He turned to see Chloe slumped down, her butt seated on the wooden floor of the locker room, her face buried in her knees as her sobs shudder through her small frame. Next to her, crouched low on her haunches and trying to console the girl, was Marinette.

And oh. Everything just clicked.

Because in Marinette's place, he saw Ladybug. He saw the girl that would go to any length to protect people, to make sure to stop anyone that was hurting, no matter who they were. He saw his strong, fearless classmate who would put others before herself, because that was just who she was. Ladybug was her, and he wouldn't ask for anyone else.

He had so many questions. So many thoughts. But he needed to see what was wrong with Chloe first, so locking away his thoughts for the time being, he moved over to the blond and designer, crouching down on her uncopied side.

"Hey, Chloe. What's going on?"

Her head snapped up, her bloodshot eyes going to him, and he immediately felt a tang of guilt, but knew it was for the right reason too. "Sabrina.. she ..she.. Left me. Said she was tired of being my friend. That she couldn't keep doing it if this continued to happen." She sniffled, wiping her nose against her arm sleeve, not caring about the small audience of two that she had acquired.

He looked to Marinette for support, finding encouragement in her eyes. Boy did he love those ocean blue eyes. "Chloe, don't you think it's time maybe you did something this? Your friends aren't leaving you to hurt you, we want to be there for you, but they can't if you're not willing to make a change for them."

She coughed away the flem that must've accumulated in her throat, and when Marinette offered a tissue, she took it. "H-how do I do that?"

Marinette smiled kindly at her. "By being nice. Genuinely. For no alternatives. Without hope it will work, without people witnessing, and most importantly, without any reward. Do it for you, no one else. And you're not going to be perfect right away, we all have our moments. But that's part of growing and learning. If you do that, actually trying to be nice, you'll get your friends back, and who knows, maybe gain a few in the process." She winked, implying that she wouldn't mind being one of those friends.

Chloe, for the better lack of the term, was floored by that. "Really? You wouldn't mind being my friend, Dupai- Marinette?" She caught herself at the last minute, but gosh was it a great first step.

Marinette laughed, and it was so beautiful. Music should be jealous. "Definitely. It's never too late to change. I think we could be really close, Chole. And I really don't mind Dupaion Cheng, as long as you mean in it in a friendly way."

A rare, real, smile appeared on her face. "I think I'd like that. I'll try, I promise."

Marinette patted her shoulder. "I'm glad to hear that."

Marinette then lifted herself up, giving a hand to Chloe to pull her up as well. Once Chloe was settled on her feet, she gave them both a nod in thanks before disappearing off into the bathroom to fix herself.

He looked to Marinette, his lady, his princess. His girlfriend. That.. that was just unbelievably good. He honestly didn't think it was possible to feel this happy.

Questions were still flooding into him. When did she gain a crush on him, why had she been so nervous to talk to him? When was she gonna tell him?

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't take notice when she was only inches in front of him. "Adrien? Are you okay?" Her eyes were filled with concern, but her smirk was strong, and plastered firm on her lips. "Do you need anything?"

_Your lips. I need your lips. Preferably against mine. Ca-can I have that?_

But, he instead, said, "Um. Yeah." He blinked. "I'm good, actually."

She hummed. "Kay." And then she did the most unexpected thing. She stretched onto her tiptoes, pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek.

Adrien exe has stopped working. Please stand by for rebooting.

Then she _winked._ At _him._ Making sure to take her leave not a moment after. "See you later."

He could hear the silent, _tonight_ in her words.

That was definitely Ladybug.

If he thought he was a mess being kissed by Ladybug at night in his room after several months of dating, it was an entirely different experience of having his girlfriend Marinette kiss him in broad daylight in the middle of a school day.

Then a thought struck him. She was trying to get him to find out her identity By playing a cat and mouse game. She didn't know he was her partner. Not yet at least. He was so gonna turn this around on her. Show her how fun this was gonna be.

Oh, his inner Chat was pouncing around inside.

_Poor bugaboo, you don't have any idea what you just released._

* * *

That night, she was cuddled against his chest on the couch as he played with her hair— he had undone her hair ties a bit ago— as she scribbled away on her tablet doing some assignment, probably the one of chemistry that was due in a few days.

He didn't know what possessed him to blurt out what he did, but it happened. "When did you fall in love with me?"

She softened in his arms, putting her homework to the side, before stretching around to face him. "What's brought this up?"

He shrugged. "I was just thinking about it lately."

She bit her lip, maybe to keep the smirk at bay. He honestly didn't think she'd respond. "Second day of school."

That… that. Okay. "Oh."

"Yep."

If it was the second day, what could he had possibly done to get her to like him? Especially so recently after the gum incident.

The answer slapped him across the face. The umbrella. When he had given her his umbrella baring his heart out to her about everything being so new to him and wanting friends. It lined right up with her turning into a stuttering mess around him right after. That was how his lady fell for him. It made him soar.

He snapped back to the present, and smiled. She was looking at him worriedly. "Okay. That's… okay."

She nodded, taking his answer for what it was. "Yeah." She booped his nose. "You and your kitten eyes."

And just that, just by that conversation, the thoughts, slowly trickled in.

She knew

He knew.

They both knew in that second.

Oh, their game of cat and mouse just got heightened.

Adrien wondered who would crack first. And as he slowly knowing smile crept onto her lips, as full knowledge took hold of her face, he couldn't wait to find out. Oh, secrets were definitely fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, the question is, are they gonna talk about it, or just let it be. Until tomorrow! Thank you for all your reviews, they really help! :D


	22. Admirer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like colds, so if you'll excuse me, I'mma head to bed. Night all.

Contrary to popular belief, despite knowing each other identity, and knowing that the other knew, they didn't acknowledge it. They didn't admit to it. They didn't even talk about it. It just became a thing.

But they still knew.

Which lead her to the firsts of many soon to be letters she would receive. Oh, she wanted to slap that incomparable cat because of it.

What was he thinking? At school, where all their friends were. The letter had been pretty safe— one would think that after the entire thing with Lila, Adrien would never want to write another single letter again, but who was she kidding? Her kitty was nothing if not stubborn.

The only thing that could be really off putting in the letter was her nickname of bugaboo, but he usually only called her that in privet, so it was pretty safe.

The only thing that was getting to her, and Adrien knew it too— judging by the feel of his eyes drilling into the back of her neck, stupid cat— was that Alya had been teasing her for the past two days of her having a secret admirer.

Day three, she entered the classroom, prepared to see the letter on the desk, but the dozen red roses, was certainly new.

She forced herself not to send him a glare.

She would not crack.

She wouldn't. No matter how much she wanted to.

He would not win.

So, with her mindset, she settled down in her seat next to Alya, the blogger's eyes screaming with absolute glee at what lay before them. "Looks like your secret admire went all out today. Wonder who it could be."

Sh picked up the paper, her eyes scanning what was written on it. Dear, bugaboo, I just wanted to give you something that could somewhat compared to your beauty. Then again, I don't think there's anything in the world that truly could.

You could put the most beautiful starry night to shame, but then again, my lady, you already knew I thought of you as my universe.

Love, your ever chivalrous knight.

"I swear," She muttered under her breathe, "If I put stars to shame with my beauty, then he puts cheese to shame with his corniness."

She heard the faintest of snickers behind her, it was so little, Alya wouldn't hear it, but she did, and murder didn't seem like to bad of a thing to add to her list of thing to do today. Maybe push him from the Eiffel tower or something. It was a full proof plan, really.

He was really testing her patience.

Bringing her attention back to Alya, she shrugged. "Who knows. But," Her pitch went slightly higher so that she knew Adrien could hear, "if he knows what's good for him, he'll stop."

They both heard a small dramatic gasp from behind this time, causing both girls to turn in their seats to see Adrien smiling innocently enough, and Nino just being confused in it all.

Alya eyed him cautiously. "Do you have something to add to this, sunshine?"

The innocent smile still held, but she could see the ends of something cattish brewing just beneath the surface. "I just think you should thank your admire, rather than threaten his life."

She shrugged, carelessly. "Eh. He's like a cat," Her eyes dripped into a deadpan stare as her tone flatlined. Just because she wasn't acknowledging, didn't mean she couldn't poke at him. "He always lands on his feet."

He smirked, patting a hand to his chest. "Now, just think, if he were near, he'd probably swoon over that."

She rolled her eyes. "He would."

Alya was watching the interaction with interest, but Marinette didn't give her much mind. Her best friend was used to her being able to actually speak coherent sentences around the boy. But with Marinette not giving her much reason as to why she had stopped stuttering over the boy, even after all these months, she was ever the more curious.

But before she could question it, the bell went off and Ms. Bustier entered.

Even with everyone now distracted, Marinette knew one thing.

She had a cat to skin.

* * *

That night, she and Adrien had decided to take a trip to the eiffel tower. She used to be worried about bringing him to such a high place, but she knew that she could easily catch him, and if not, he could transform in a blink of an eye.

They were settled on a blanket he had packed, with a few snacks in front of them, as she snuggled into his side. They were just enjoying the view of the sleepy city, not really talking, just relishing in being there.

That was when her partner decided that teasing her was better than silence. "So, how was school today?"

She sent him a dirty glare. "I got a secret admirer letter from some scaredy cat."

He hummed in thought, eyes still set on the city down below, but she could see the hint of sparkle in his eyes. "Should I be jealous, lovebug?"

You will not smack him. You have enough self control.

Maybe she could get Plagg to cataclysm his ribs again? All she would need was cheese and he could be bribed easy enough.

But, she settled for threatening him herself instead. Turning her voice sugary sweet, she twisted to be able to get a better look at him. "Of course not. But you wanna know what I plan to do to him once I see him?" She moved closer, letting her lips just barely brush against his.

He nodded robotically, obviously lost in her being so close. She loved how she could still get him sometimes. "S-sure."

She moved past him, letting her mouth touch the shell of his ear. "I'm gonna tie him up and hang him upside down from the eiffel tower."

Adrien never moved away faster in their whole relationship.


	23. The Press

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not do sick. And tomorrow is my 2nd wedding anniversary.
> 
> Well, crap.
> 
> Gonna be funnnnnn. Lol

A part of Adrien knew that eventually, the press just might find out about the fact that he was dating a superheroine of Pairs.

He had just really, really hoped that they wouldn't.

Apparently, they had gotten a tip from someone that knew about the letters. Someone thought it was so romantic, and Ladybug deserved to know just exactly what her sweet, enduring boyfriend wrote about her.

The worse of it was, was the fact that Gaberial Agreste— his own father— confirmed the handwriting and outed him in dating Ladybug. Adrien had…. never been more infuriated with him ever in his life. He wanted to scream, yell, and just tell him every thought he had of his father in that year alone.

Because, yes, he knew Ladybug was Marinette, yes, their game was gonna come to end soon enough and they'd date as Ladybug and Chat, and Adrien and Marinette only, but that had been a simple plan. They would just have to convince his father that things just weren't working out, give it a month, maybe two to be safe before they started dating as themselves, and boom, all would be good.

But the press was involved, and so was Hawkmoth, which meant that they had to hurry along with the time line, as well as making it look convincing. That was what worried them the most, because if it didn't seem like they were serious, Adrien was a sure fire target to Ladybug.

So, that was what they were doing. Adrien laying on his stomach, with papers scattered about with idea after idea written everywhere— with every intention to have Plagg cataclysm said papers after they had a foolproof plan— with Ladybug draped across his back, looking over his shoulder as they went through everything.

"I should've just told you." Ladybug blurted out as she buried her head into the crook of his shoulders. "I should've just told you how I felt as me, and we wouldn't have been in this mess. But no, I just had to act chicken."

He pushed away the papers, before twisting around, almost knocking her off of him, but he caught her as he rolled onto his back, righting her so that she now laid on his stomach and within reach to rub to his nose against hers. "No, princess." Nicknames still slipped through every now and then. "We both know that wouldn't have worked, you know that. We've had this conversation before. I was in love with Ladybug."

She sighed, pressing her forehead to his, and letting her eyes drop shut. "I know. But this still sucks, big time."

Heck, by now their game could've been done with, but with the press constantly breathing down their backs, they couldn't end it. They had to be careful not to use the name Marinette, or Chat around each other.

They both silently agreed— even though they still were playing dumb with each other on identities; if they had to play for the press, why not continue it for themselves?— Chat was not even allowed to make so much as one flirty comment to Ladybug in fear it would be heard, nor was Marinette allowed to glance at Adrien any longer than two seconds unless it was school related, or they were out with a group of friends and they were all interacting.

Adrien hated it. But he loved his lovebug, and he knew, as long as they were careful, in the end, it'd work out.

That was when she jolted up, eyes sparked with an idea in mind. "What if, we started fighting." At his concerned look, she quickly explained, "I mean, maybe the press is getting too much to our relationship, the idea of Hawkmoth being able to target you becomes too much? We start fighting, and it has to start out small to make it look realistic, but it starts to add up becoming more than either of us can handle, and voila! We break up!"

Adrien stumbled to his feet, pulling her close. "Hm. Sounds like a good plan to me." She giggled in his hold and he couldn't help the small kisses he peppered on her face before he went to lock his eyes on hers. "I'm so lucky to have fallen in love with you."

She sighed. "Not as lucky that I fell in love with you, hot stuff."

He chuckled. "Seriously, where did you come up with that nickname?"

She sighed, but the teasing was heavy in her tone. "I… might've… accidentally called you that when I left you a voicemail when I was trying to ask you out and then I went and broke in your locker and deleted it," The rest of her stance broke off somewhat and was mumbled under her breathe, "even though Alya warned me not to improv."

"Improv?"

"Don't ever stick me in a situation where I have to come up with an excuse on the fly. It won't end well."

He nodded, fighting back laughter. "Duly noted."

She looked satisfied. "Yeah. Funny enough, the was the day of the unveiling of the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue."

He groaned internally at the memory of that day.

He couldn't wait for the love square to officially be over.

* * *

The week flew by, and they had their plan down to a T.

The thing with the whole city knowing that they were dating, they could actually be seen out in public together, which made this whole plan so much easier. Seeing the press off in the distance, Adrien ducked into an alleyway, pulling Ladybug with him.

As he steeled himself for the upcoming plan, he looked to make sure that she was ready as well. "Remember the plan?"

She nodded, lips steeled together tightly. "Yep."

Stepping into her personal space, he cupped her cheeks, pressing his lips soundly to hers for a minute before he pulled back. "And no matter what, you know I love you more than anything?"

She nodded. "Of course."

He breathed. "Okay." He peaked a glance out of the mouth of the alleyway, making sure that the press would be close enough to hear them yelling. He turned back to his bugaboo,. "Okay, you're on."

She cleared her throat before she arched her back and yelled, "I'm so tired of the press always being on our trail, Adrien. I just want to enjoy a day with you. Not the whole world."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few camera clicks, encouraging him to go on. "I'm sorry. I can't help that I have people breathing down my back. It's not like I want this. Don't put the blame on me."

She may not have been good at improv, but when rehearsed, she knew how to put on a pretty good act. "I'm not trying to put the blame on you. I'm just trying to get the concept that I would like to have some time with my boyfriend alone."

The sound of the camera's were music to his ears, absolute ecstatic. "I don't know what you want me to do, Ladybug! They won't go away with a snap of my fingers!"

She huffed, taking a few steps back. "They might not, but I can." She unhooked her yo-yo from her waist. "I'll get a hold of you after I've calmed down a bit."

Tossing her weapon, she lifted herself into the air and swung of, her figure fading from view a little more each passing second.

As he made his way to the exit of the alleyway, the press pounced on him.

He controlled his expression to be sad. All was going according to plan.

* * *

Several weeks continued in that sort of pattern, only with each fight that they were caught in, it was just a little bit worse.

The last one was the tipping point though. At the end of it, Ladybug had mentioned a break, saying that she would be by later that night for them to make a final decision on it.

Which was what brought them to the final phase of their plan: making sure that it was absolutely clear to Gabriel that they were done and over with. It was the finale to a long awaited game, and Adrien was ready for it to be over with.

His girlfriend took that moment to swing into his room, a sneaky grin worming its way onto her lips. He pulled her in, kissing the grin off of her lips. He hated arguing with her, even if it was fake, and made sure to give her extra love and kisses before he did.

He turned to see, and made sure of the shadows that were lightly skimming the floor underneath his doorway.

Perfect. They were listening.

He singled for her to start. "Adrien, we need to talk."

He nodded, making sure to keep his voice sad and heavy. "Yeah."

She kept her distance, because if they were to have any physical contact, they both knew it'd be over and they wouldn't be able to convince anyone. "I-I don't think I can do this anymore. The press is everywhere, and with Hawkmoth, it's just too dangerous-"

He had to act. "Ladybug, please-"

"No" She cut him off. "We can do this anymore. I'm sorry, Adrien. It's not fair to either of us. We're…. We're over."

He couldn't help the real tears that sprouted during the fake argument. "B-but.."

She had tears of her own that he wanted to wipe away. "I'm sorry." She repeated, and ran to the window. But not before throwing a wink over her shoulder, even if it was one filled with water.

She disappeared, letting the yo-yo guide her home.

His dad and Natalie barged in not a second later, his father offering a stiff nod and a pat on the back and in consalnce. His assistant did a little more than that, even went as far as to give him a small hug, but both told him it was for the better, and bid him a good night.

Oh, what a goodnight, indeed. The rest of the week was surely gonna be an even better one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleep, here I come. Please lemme know your thoughts as usual! Lots of love!


	24. Reveal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how this one turned out with all things considered with my cold induced brain! Hope you enjoy! I. Love. Fluff.

The next few months blurred together. They finished out the school year and summer left nearly faster than it had appeared.

In those months, Adrien and Marinette made sure to stay friendly with one another— funny enough, it was Chat and Ladybug who were the ones that had the most romantic interaction, and even that was limited— Marinette played the supportive friend after the hard breakup with Ladybug, as to make it look convincing that as she supported him, he was 'slowly starting to fall in love with her' to what their friends could see.

They still hadn't acknowledged the reveal, even though it was eating at them. They just were so insistent they keep their guards up after everything that had happened, they were both too scared to even breathe a word of it to each other.

It was now the first day of school— a week before Adrien's sixteenth birthday— and Marinette knew the three were waiting downstairs to walk with her to school, something they had decided would be a nice change for the new school year.

Dressed, and Tikki secured in her pouch, she flew down the stairs, out the bakery with treats that her parents had handed her for the first day, and greeted her friends— and boyfriend— who were waiting patiently on the sidewalk.

"Oh, look." Adrien's eyes were gleaming with amusement. "It looks like the princess actually decided to grace us with her presence this fine morning."

Marinette rolled her eyes, but fell into step next to him, with Alya on her right and Nino on the other side of his girlfriend. "Whatever."

Alya nudged her best friend's shoulder with her own. "He isn't wrong, M. None of us really expected you to wake up on time for school. I had a full plan of barging into your room with a bucket of ice cold water, or was it just ice? I forget."

Marinette shot her a glare. "Thanks, Alya. I feel the love."

Even with knowing that the thanks wasn't genuine, Alya still patted her back with a warm smile. "Of course, girl. Anytime."

* * *

Marinette was not expecting to be pulled into the bathroom by Alya when their feet touch the grounds of the school. Shouting, girl duties over her shoulder to the two confused boys, Marinette let herself be dragged through the school until they were in the bathroom, the one other attendance being Chloe, who had already been in there. 

Okay, what in the world was going on?

She eyed the two suspiciously as Alya turned her head to speak to the former bully, arms crossed over her chest. "He called her princess— again."

Oh, that was what these two were up to. She sighed. They've had this conversation a billion times over the summer months. "You guys need to stop. You both know as well as I do that we're just friends."

Heh, she was lucky that she could lie, as much as she hated it all the same.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "C'mon, we both that's a flat out lie."

Marinette's stance turned defensive. "He just broke up with Ladybug-"

"Three months ago." Alya stressed. "He's moved on. You gotta try sometime."

"What if he hasn't?"

What if it was still too dangerous?

Chloe scoffed, taking a strand of hair between her fingers and twirled it. "I swear, Dupain Chenge. If Adrien isn't in love with you, then I must be poor."

Chloe would always be… Chloe. But the words weren't said in any malice, just annoyance that she and Adrien weren't together. Alya and her had formed an alliance long ago to try to get them together, and they were growing impatient.

Well, excuse her for wanting to be safe.

Alya closed some of the distance, putting her hand on Marinette's shoulders. "Girl. Adrien Agreste is in love with you. At the very least, he's falling in love with you. You've gotta stop dancing around each other."

You have no idea.

Alya pulled her into a tight hug. "There's never gonna be a right time, you gotta make time for it to be right."

Thankfully, the bell chose that moment to ring, abruptly ending their conversation.

Alya glared at the door before looking back to her best friend and pointed at her. "This isn't over." Pulling Chloe out along with her.

Marinette wondered, not for the first time, as to why she had the friends that she did,

* * *

First day of school, and Hawkmoth thought it'd be fun to send an akuma as a welcoming gift.

It was such sweet sentiment, Marinette almost felt bad that she'd have to send it away all white and purified.

Almost.

As the teens started their usual chaos of screams, Marinette bolted for the door, and she could sense Adrien right behind her as she ran for the bathroom.

The hallways soon became too crowded to the point where she almost couldn't get to the bathroom in the first place, but then she felt someone grasp her hand, leading her, and she knew right away with just one touch, that it was Adrien.

When they get to the bathroom doors, he ushered her into the restroom, and goes into the one for boys, neither needing to actually say anything as to what they needed to do.

Checking the stalls to make sure she was alone, she unclipped her pouch and called on Tikki. Once transformed, she rushed out of the bathroom, and ran into Chat, who was just exiting the bathroom as well.

The smirk that overtook his lips screamed cocky, and it, wow, she just loved this boy. "Hey, bugaboo." His eyebrows wiggled. "Fancy meeting you here."

She rolled her eyes and just shook her head. "This is no time to flirt, kitty. I'm sure you'll be doing that a lot later."

He brought a hand to his chest, closing his eyes and sighing dramatically. "Of course. What kind of brave, strapping, chivalrous knight would I be if I didn't flirt with my princess?"

Ladybug snorted, eyes dropped halfway as she just stared at him. "Why are you like this?"

* * *

The akuma victim had actually been Chloe. Apparently, Lila had gotten under her skin, and while she tried to fight it off, she couldn't. Lila had been right there as, her necklace that her mom gave her— they had been trying to actually repair and build up their relationship— was being possessed, and Lila was egging her on, trying to dig at Chloe's insecurities, trying to get her to befall to the akuma's possion. 

Which worked, and lead to them purifying the akuma, and saving Chloe.

Ladybug held Chloe as she sobbed into her shoulder, calling herself weak. Chat and her shushed her, telling her there was nothing wrong with how she felt about a repairing relationship, and how wrong that had been of Lila to poke at something she was still sensitive about.

Chloe had wiped away the tears and said something about maybe having a girls night with Marinette, Alya and a few others in an attempt to lift her spirits.

Ladybug smiled, and encouraged her to do so.

Her timmer decided that was the moment to start beeping, and she glanced at Chat, who's ring started in sync with hers. They bid Chloe a goodbye, and ran out of the school.

Once outside, Chat grabbed her hand, and dipped his head to press a soft kiss to it. "Until next time, my lady." He shot her a wink and parkoured off to go detransform somewhere.

She giggled, and rolled her eyes in amusement. "That cat's something else." Grabbing her yo-yo, she pulled her back her arm, and aimed it, letting the string of the yo-yo lead her somewhere safe to let Tikki rest.

* * *

She landed in an alleyway, three blocks from the school, with one dot to go.

But the gasp from behind reached her ears and she whipped around to see Chat standing there, frozen, with eyes blown open wide. He fumbled a bit with his mouth before he was able to make words. "Yo-you should get out of he-"

But it was too late. His last pawprint beeped and his transformation washed over him and Adrien took Chat's place. Looking absolutely terrified.

With her own final warning, her suit dissolved in a flash of pink and left behind a very jittery Marinette in her place that wasn't exactly sure how to deal with this.

Because even if they knew, they could ignore it, it was just a thing and nothing more. But no, they couldn't ignore this, they couldn't lock it away any longer. She wasn't sure to feel about it, not shocked, of course. They already knew, but it was here, in their face, screaming here I am. It's time for this to be over. So many things were flooding her head and she just wasn't sure how to process everything.

If she could identify one emotion in all of this though, it would be fear. What was stopping them from being together now? What if, they didn't date yet, despite acknowledging it, and they moved one step out of place, if they seemed just too like their other personas. What if people put two and two together found out who she was, who Adrien was? What if it was too much of a coincidence that Marinette started dating Adrien so soon after their breakup?

Even with the time that had passed with Adrien and Ladybug's break up, her mind screamed too soon, too soon. Danger, danger, danger.

But then, her mind flashed back to the conversation she had with Alya and Chloe earlier on in the bathroom.

"They've been broken up for three months. He's moved on,"

What if it was still too soon?

"You gotta try sometimes," Alya's voice countered back, "Its never gonna be right, you have to make it right."

She… she had to make it right.

Snapping out of her internal thoughts, Marinette cleared her throat, and mustered a little bit of courage. "Hey, hot stuff. Fancy meeting you here."

The grin that broke onto his lips was worth more than any identities, more than any terrified thoughts. It was worth the world, and she was determined to keep it there as long as possible.

He sprinted to her, lifting her into his arms, and planted his lips directly on hers, kissing her senseless, breathless. Widly. It had been months since she had felt her lips pressed against his and he was milking her for everything that she was.

Kiss, after sloppy kiss, and she could tell he was getting tired from holding most of her weight, so she adjusted herself so her legs wrapped around his waist instead and her arms slipped around his neck for balance.

The kisses eventually slowed, long, hungry kisses became sweet, heart slowing pecks that told each other just how much they've missed this in the months they couldn't be together. It said hey, I've missed you. I need you. Please don't ever leave me again.

Never her brain vowed. Never again.

She loved how they ached for this, and just the feel of his lips against hers brought them both a sense of peace once more, and that was all the other needed.

A sense of home.

They had their home back. It was apparent in the breathless kisses, in the way she scrapped her finger nails along his scalp, how her fingers played in his hair.

How he held her so tenderly, yet at the same time, so tightly, as if he was afraid if he let her go, she'd disappear right before his eyes. It was like a dam had broken.

They eventually needed to pull back for air. Even though she wanted more. Craved more, needed more. She needed him, period.

His eyes were filled to the brim with tears, and one hand went to wipe away the salty water. "Hi," He breathed.

She giggled, kissing away another stray tear. "Hey," she whispered. Everything just felt right in that one moment. Nothing bad surrounded them. They had each other, and that was all that she cared about.

She cupped his cheek, and he leaned into it with a content sigh, and a low ruble akin to purr in his chest started. "I'm tired of pretending. Can please we just stop? I… I honestly don't think I can go another day without kissing you. Without loving you in front of our friends."

"Yeah." She pressed her forehead against his. "I think we're done with the games."

Because right now, right now she was going to make this the right time, no matter what may come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnnn. They're officially together! Woot woot!
> 
> I guess you could say Marinette was a scardy cat. Huh, huh?
> 
> *Cricket noises*
> 
> Wow, tough room. Oh well, night all! See you tomorrow!


	25. Hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy! :D

They didn't leave the alleyway right away. He just couldn't stop kissing her, sue him. It had been three months, three whole months since they so much as kissed. That was 90 days.

Not that he was counting.

When they pulled back, knowing they had to go out and actually face reality, Adrien wanted just a few more minutes for them, hidden away in this little alleyway. "I love you, Marinette. I love you so much."

The content sigh was everything that happiness was made of. "I love you too, kitty. I missed you."

His heart thumped at the lovestruck stare clouding her eyes. Add that to seeing her lips being fiery red and swollen, and her cheeks flushed red, with her hair now messed up because of him. He did that to her, and he planned to do that over and over to her again in the near very future.

He pulled her close, burying his nose in her hair. They stood there, just soaking in the presence of each other. Nothing around them really mattered— they were blind to everything; including the two girls that just happend to be passing by.

"I knew it!"

The couple turned to see Chloe and Alya standing there, Chloe with her arms over her chest, eyebrow arched, and a lopsided smirk painted on her face. Alya was gobsmacked with her mouth to the sidewalk.

Alya came out of her stupor pretty quick, and grabbed Chloe, beginning to bounce up and down in glee. It took a minute for Chloe to join in, but eventually, the excitement broke her too, and started to jump along with her.

Adrien and Marinette looked to each other before looking back to the squealing girls. Adrien was the one to voice their shared question. "Are...are you guys gonna be okay?"

Chloe was the first to stop and get ahold of herself. "'Course, Adrikins. We're just happy to have this mutual pinning finally over with."

The two exchanged a knowing glance before Marinette smirked at their friends. "Trust me.. We are well aware."

* * *

Adrien knew they would be public news soon enough, especially with someone like Alya knowing about it.

But he couldn't deny the hope he had that they'd have at least a few days to themselves.

However, that dream had been instantly crushed as the news spread like wildfire. He wasn't mad exactly— he'd scream it from the rooftops that he was dating Marinette Dupain Cheng if he could— just a little frustrated that he couldn't have easy alone time with her.

On the bright side, his father warmed up to her almost instantly. Saying how he approved and gave them his blessing and— much to Adrien's delight— instructed his assistant to clear specific time during the week to be able to spend time together.

That was one of those times right now. His lady and he were hiding out in his room— they were gonna give the press a few days to calm down after finding out that Adrien Agreste was once more off the market— cuddled under the blankets, with her decked out his shirt and him wearing his pj bottoms.

Marinette's parents had agreed, seeing that it was the weekend, that she was allowed to sleepover at his place, and even his father welcomed her in, making sure that Natalie had given her anything she could want.

It was a stark contrast from.. Ladybug.

Only if he knew.

The second she entered his room, Adrien couldn't help it, he hadn't so much as kissed her in so long, and he wanted to remedy that. He missed loving her.

So, they caught up on some… particular activities that they had both been missing.

An hour later and the movie was twenty minutes in now, and Adrien couldn't help as his mind started to drift away from the movie and to the girl next to him. His girlfriend.

That was music to his ears to know that she was his and no one could ever take her away from him ever again.

She must've felt his eyes on her, because she moved her own away from the movie to lock onto his. The second her face was turned towards his, he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Is everything okay, Adrien?"

He smiled, closing the laptop and moving it to the side for now and pulled her even closer. "Yeah." He nuzzled her cheek. "I...I'm just scared that this is just a dream. That I'll wake up and you'll be gone."

She asked, and moved so that her legs were on either side of him, her gaze locked heavy onto his. When she spoke, it was with adoration, and love, and the tone that she only used for him. But along with that, she was firm in her words too. "Adrien, I'm not going anywhere. Not without you at least." She nudged her nose against his. "I'm yours, and you're mine."

She left him speechless. She always somehow did that. Well, except when she didn't.

"Marry me."

She obviously hadn't expected that, and almost jumped back far enough to fall off the bed. But she caught herself and got her composure under control, and was back in his lap so quick as if he hadn't moved at all. "Sorry, I just…" She breathed. "Hadn't expected you to say that out of the blue."

His eyebrows furrowed. "We've talked about it plenty of times before. What difference does now make?"

She sighed, but her lips curved into a smile at the release of air. "I guess… I guess it's just the idea it's even more real." She shrugged. "There's no masks between us anymore. And the way you said it just so matter of factly. Like you'd marry me tomorrow if you could."

He smirked. "I would."

Her tea kettle whine would never get old. She moved to hide her face in his neck. "We're barely sixteen. I think we have to wait a little bit longer."

He shrugged. "I don't mind waiting." He knew he was having some kind of effect on her, and it made his inner Chat pur. He wanted her for the rest of his life, and who could blame him? She was Marinette. No one else could compare.

The sweet kiss that she placed on his neck had to be payback. It had to be. "Eighteen then. If you're willing to wait until eighteen, that's all I ask."

He started to rub circles into her back. "You don't have to, bugaboo. Whenever you're ready-"

She laughed against his skin, and as always, it sent shivers down his spine. "Do you really think I'd wait any longer than I have to marry you? I'm as impatient as you are. You just… caught me off guard."

He trailed kisses along the crown of her head, closing his eyes as he let the calm wash over him. "Sorry, didn't mean to catch you off guard like that, but I'm glad to be clear on where I stand with us." He gently pushed her back to be able to look at her once more, her eyes sparkling as they always did. She was so beautiful, and just how was she his? "Marinette, I meant it when I said I have every intention to marry you. Along with having Hugo, Emma, and Louis."

She giggled, moving her hand to trace the outline of his jaw. "I could tell you that I loved you a million times a day, and it still wouldn't convey one hundred percent of how I feel. I love you, Adrien Agreste, more than I could love anyone else in this world."

Self doubt was always nagging at the back of his mind, it always did. "Even when we have to hide out here?"

His girlfriend cooed. "Yes. You once told me you don't have a future without me, well you listen here, mister." She ducked in close, her breath washing over his face, her expression all Ladybug, and he loved her all the more for it. "I don't have one without you either. Not one that I want at least."

He felt the edge of his eyes prickle with tears. "Thank you. For loving me as much as you do."

She rested her head against his chest. "You have no reason to thank me. I'm more than happy to love you."

He could feel the call of sleep pulling him under. "I'm getting sleepy, bugaboo." He heard her laugh as his eyelids started to droop and he relaxed against his pillows, taking her with him into a laying position. "I think," He yawned. "It's time to go to bed."

The last thing he could recall was a gentle kiss to his jaw and his mind subduing to the need for sleep.

Maybe hiding out still had its perks for the moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, June is a busy month for us, especially the last week.
> 
> 23rd-his parents anniversary.
> 
> 24th-our anniversary/his dad's birthday
> 
> 25-my husbands birthday.
> 
> In other words, I'm exhausted, and I'm so sorry about this being later than usual! Lots of love, and good night!


	26. Piano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mushy fluff is the best fluff.
> 
> I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not.
> 
> So, yeah, enjoy. Sorry about it being mostly Adrienette, Its hard to fit Ladrien in something like this where they now can't be seen together, but I'll be trying my best the next few chapters.

"I'm so happy that we were able to get front row seats to Adrien's recital!"

Chloe looked up from where she had been filing her nails. "Of course Adrikins would make sure to give us front row seats, especially Agreste over there." She pointed to Marinette.

Said girl arched an eyebrow. "Did you just call me Adrien's last name?"

She shrugged as she continued to trim her nails. "If the shoe fits, wear it. Sometimes you gotta break in the shoe before you wear it, just so you get used to it.I won't be calling you Dupain-Cheng for forever you know."

She looked to Alya, silently asking her what the blond between them meant by that. "You are dating him, girl. Can't really blame her."

Marinette's nose scrunched and she glared at her best friend. "Thanks."

She smiled. "Just doing my job."

"Look, dudes." Nino pointed to the line in front of them. "Lines moving. Let's get going. I wanna see my bro proform already."

They finally got inside the rather luscious theater, escaping the nippy autumn air that was starting to accumulate. They took their seats in the front, Marinette having Chloe sit on her left and Alya to her direct right while Nino was on the other side of Alya.

There was light chatter spreading about the crowd of thousands of people. While Marinette wasn't one for fancy outings— it was a black tie event and everything— she was excited to see Adrien play the piano.

Adrien's father entered a few minutes after the five were seated, with both Kagami and her mother on either side of him.

That was normal though. Even if she was Adrien' s girlfriend— and he proudly boasted about that the past two months, much to her blush— they still invited Kagami and her mother to social events of the like, seeing as their parents were still business partners.

They were civil towards each other, and Marinette had apologized for the whole movie premiere incident, which Kagami fully accepted, and apologized for her own standoffish behavior at times when it came to trying to win over Adrien.

She even said she was happy for the couple, and wished them the best. But the young designer could tell there was still an air of tension between everyone, or maybe it was just a bit of heartbreak because Adrien was with her and not the fencer. Either way, Marinette couldn't help the small twinge of guilt every so often.

But, tonight seemed to be one of the better nights for the two girls, because as Kagami passed, she gave a nod with a smile towards Marinette in greeting, and she reciprocated the action. Progress could be made every once and a while at least.

As the lights in the theater started to dim with the last of the guest finally filed in, Marinette turned her attention to the stage as the spotlight as shone.

There were a few acts ahead of Adrien's, and while she did her best to pay attention to them, she just wasn't as invested. They were good though, and she clapped along every time a piece ended.

Then Adrien took front and center, he looked out into the crowd and when he spotted them, gave a wave, and blew her a kiss.

The audience awed at that.

She blushed. That kitty of hers was something else.

Alya poked her in the stomach with her elbow. "I bet Mr. Hot stuff is enjoying this much more with his princess here."

Marinette's eyes narrowed. "You know, I always thought that after Adrien and I got together, the teasing would actually stop."

She snorted. "You wish."

Adrien began to play, and the blogger huffed at having to cease her playing.

Marinette smiled and gave her full attention to her boyfriend. The song he played— it was one that his father insisted he played — was elegant, something that she had heard him practice often, especially when she would pay him late night visits as Ladybug. The build up was heartwarming, and she loved listening to it.

She could listen to him playing the piano for hours on end and would still be sad when it ended. But all good things must come to a close.

As the key ended the final note, he stood from his bench as a round of applause echoed throughout the room, and gave a low bow. The group of five stood from their seats to cheer him on either further.

Adrien grabbed his papers, and started to make his way off the stage, he looked over his shoulder, and shot her a wink.

Every time she thought she couldn't fall in love with him anymore, she just kept falling with no ground in sight.

But she knew if anything would catch her, in the end, it would be Adrien's arms.

* * *

She was halfway out the door when a hand grabbed and halted her. She turned to see Adrien standing there with a soft smile on his lips. His father stood next to him, Kagami and her mother just behind. "Hey, princess. Do you think you could stay back for a bit? I have a surprise for you."

She eyed him suspiciously, but nodded anyway.

She glanced at Alya, who instantly agreed. "I'll get these two dorks home safe and sound."

Chloe seemed to take offense at that. "One time! You get lost once, because it was dark, mind you and you just saw a scary movie for the first time in your life, and it carries throughout the rest of your life!"

"You lived a block away."

Chloe shrunk at that. "Yeah, okay. Fair point."

The two allowed themselves to be dragged away.

The mother and daughter came up to congratulate Adrien on a job well done, and bid them a nice night.

Gaberial looked at the two before looking at the Gorilla. "I need to get home, and I can guess you'll be a bit. I'll have your driver come back and fetch you. Goodnight, Marinette."

She nodded. "You as well, sir."

Once the cost was cleared, she spun around to her boyfriend, eyeing him suspiciously.. "What're you up to, kitty?"

The knowing smirk festered. "Oh, you know. Things." And without another word, scooped her up bridal style, causing her to giggle and carried her down the hall and back to the performance room. He took her up the steps and over to the piano, sitting her down gently on the bench.

He joined her on the other side of the seat and she couldn't help but ask, "You gotta tell me what's going on, hot stuff? I'm lost here."

He smiled a smile he reversed only for her. "I did a song that my father really had been wanting to do. But this." His fingers brushed the keys of the piano lightly, preparing for the song was about to play. "This one I made for only special ears to hear.."

With that, he played, and he played beautifully. The melody started out slowly, bringing a soft tune to the overly large room. The tempo continued to climb further and further with every note and it brought her to tears. Her hand went to her heart as she scootched even closer to him, allowing little space between the two.

As the song came to its climax, it was loud and powerful, and filled with so many emotions, but it was all harmonically balanced together. It was filled with love, and happiness, and warmth in each press of the keys. It sounded like everything good that was in the world. It fit, just like a puzzle piece. Just like them.

As it lowered down from the climax, it grew soft again, every part connecting just so, and with the final few notes, the song gracefully faded off quietly into a completed end.

It was everything, and it came from the man she loved most, Marinette knew she would want to listen to the song on repeat whenever possible, and she didn't care. She was sobbing up a storm, but Adrien was there to wrap an arm around her and kiss her forehead.

Curiosity flooded her. "What. What was that song called?"

He smiled. "Isn't it obvious?"

She shook her head.

"It's called Lovebug."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please lemme know your thoughts! Lots of love!
> 
> Husband note:
> 
> I usually would like to leave something funny, but for this one, I would like to suggest a piece of music to go along with the chapter. While I can't say my choice in song is what was intended I found the Piano cover of "This is me" is a fair companion piece to this chapter.
> 
> Also, Chloe and Alya would make a Social Media powerhouse. Just putting that out there.


	27. Protecting You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a little time because I scraped the first draft, but then this came to be, and I really prefer how this one turned out. I hope you guys enjoy it!

"Adrien, please don't wander off like that."

The blond woman towered above him as she reached for his hand. Her grip was soft and light, yet held strong to his hand as not to lose him again. "Mommy, I just wanted to see the ladybug."

She smiled at him as her free hand brushed the hair covering his eyes, tender hands that always made the bad days, better. "I know, sweetheart, but when you chase after things you have to let mommy or daddy know, okay?"

Said father could be seen with a smile plastered on his face, downing a large bubblegum ice cream cone. "So, please next time you go running after ladybugs always make sure to… and he's already gone."

The little creature had nearly landed on his mother's nose. How could she not have noticed it? This little ladybug clearly wanted to play and little Adrien was happy to oblige. He took after it, weaving through the streets of Paris until he could no longer hear his mother's voice.

In the blink of an eye, reality had taken hold of him. He was lost. He didn't know these streets, how could he, being locked away in his room all day. Tears began to stream down his face as the little ladybug landed on the tip of his nose. The creature was kind to him, yet he still felt sad.

He wiggled his nose in an effort to let the little creature know it's comfort helped, yet it only flew away upon the sudden shift.

He was about to chase after it when a tall figure approached him from outside the alleyway Adrien had been hiding in. "Where's my mommy!"

The figure did not speak, he simply held out a glass key as a large grin spread across his face. Looking down Adrien saw steel bars rising from the ground trapping him on the spot. The slender man walked forward, every feature, save his smile, shrouded in darkness as he dropped the key to the ground shattering on impact."Stay there child, and be a good little boy. All you have to do is play along and I'll let you go." His breath reeked of mint as his glowing smile was mear inches away. "Would your father ever lie to you?"

The smiling man backed away the moment he saw Adrien begin to shake. He didn't know where his mommy was, and he just wanted her hugs and kisses to make all the bad things go away. Mommy could always do that. She could make this man go away.

This person was not mommy though. "Son, I promise it will be alright, just let your father pull the strings and it will all work out in the end."

Footsteps began to echo through the alleyway, as bright flashes blinded the child.

"Poor thing, he's so young."

He had nearly opened his eyes when another flash struck him.

"Do you think his father can handle all the pressure alone?"

The flashes never stopped.

"How is he gonna make friends stuck in that house?"

He wanted them to stop, he would give anything for them just to stop. Squeezing his eyes closed as tight as he could smell a hint of his mother's perfume somewhere just behind him.

"Adrien." She whispered. "It's okay, sweetie. I'll always be here. I'll always protect you."

She gently took his glowing hand and pressed it against the bars of his cage.

* * *

"Cataclysm!"

His chest was heaving up and down as he did his best to catch his breath. He was in his room with a very angry deity of destruction hovering just over him, nightcap still secured around his tiny head.

"Was it your mother again?"

He shifted his legs to the side of his bed. The little kwami lowering himself to comfort his friend.

Adrien nodded. "It was her last words, Plagg. 'I'll always protect you' those were the last words she spoke to me before they left for their trip. It's been over a year, Plagg. I still hear them as if she were still here. I should be past this."

Plagg rested next to his owner, kicking his little stubs back and forth off the bed. "Kid, do you know how many Chat's there were before you? Hundreds, literally hundreds. To this day, I can remember all their names. Every last one. When you lose someone you love, they take a part of you with them."

The little creature looked down to the dark purple wrinkles pressed in its paws. "It doesn't matter how long it's been, you never get that back. You just get used to it, learn to move around it, but it's still there. Eventually, you find that you keep them alive in stories and on really good days, if you squint hard enough, you can see their smiles in the people around you."

He looked up at Adrien with a weak smile breaking through his face.

"Do me a favor, kid. Call your lovebug, I think we could use a smile right about now."

* * *

Marinette was tossing and turning as the heat from the bakery had turned her room into a practical oven. Hurray for everybody wanting holiday sweets in November!

Heat and rage aside, there was just something off in the pit of her stomach that kept her from the sweet embrace of sleep. "I swear, Tikki. If people don't learn how to wait for the holidays, I'm going to just-"

Before she could finish her sentence she heard her phone vibrate on the wooden frame above her head.

Tikki blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she hovered over to the phone. "Marinette, if kitty is asking for treats again you better let him-"

The phone was now at a constant vibrate, signaling a call instead of a text.

Upon noticing the shift in vibrations. Tikki flew at lightning speeds plopping the phone into Marinette's hands. "Adrien, what's going on?"

His breath was heavy and his voice hoarse. She could tell he had been crying. "I'm sorry, lovebug, I know it's late but do you think you would be able to make it over. I'm having a really bad night and I just need you here. If not I under-"

Marinette put the phone on speaker as she had Tikki transform her the moment her finger left the screen. She picked the phone up with her gloved hand, and went over to the closet to grab a couple of dark sweatshirts so that she could easily blend into the night, as not to get caught by possible night owls. "Be right over hot stuff."

* * *

Within minutes, he heard a knock at his window as the raging cold blasted into his room.

"I came as fast as I could." Closing the window Ladybug hopped down to the floor below. Making sure to land on something soft as to not alert Adrien's father. "What's going on? You sounded distraught."

She took a seat next to him as Plagg fluttered to the other side of his owner. "I had a dream about my mother. I've been having a lot of them recently. I guess I just needed-" He felt a small tap to his side. "We needed some company for the night."

Ladybug took his hand, it was a strange sensation to feel her hands gloved again but he was just happy she was there. "What was she like? I mean, I know you told me before, but there's just something about how you talk about her."

Adrien's smile was soft as thoughts of his mother flooded his mind. "She was kind, and warm. Most of all, she was understanding. She was the kind of person to stand up for what she believed in and protected those who couldn't. She even taught how to throw a punch after I got into my first fight."

Ladybug laughed. "You don't punch, you use your claws more than you punch."

Adrien shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say, after I came home with a black eye, she didn't care if I fought dirty, just so long as I didn't come home with another black eye."

Ladybug couldn't help but laugh at that and, for the briefest of seconds, he could see the smile he had missed for so long find its way on her face.

It took a little while, but sleep was finally starting to catch up with the two. Adrien wrapped himself around his girlfriend as they tried their hardest to fight back the sleep they both wished for earlier that night. "Thank you, Princess. It still hurts knowing that she's gone, but I can still rest knowing I have you by my side. I love you."

She shifted in his arms, making sure not to elbow him in the face, and looked at him with the warmest smile she could muster at 4:30 in the morning. "I'll always be here, I'll always protect you. I love you more than the stars in the sky."

The world around him felt warm as his eyes drifted away.

* * *

When the light shone again, he was standing outside as he felt a little tug at the end of his arm.

"Daddy, come on! It's gonna run away."

The little girl had long blond hair and her mother's shimmering blue eyes, highlighted by her beautiful smile that he adored. "Oh, no you don't." He picked up the little girl, placing her on his shoulders, making sure to take a firm grip of her legs. "Now that daddy's got you, there's no way we're letting this little ladybug get away." As he zoomed forward after the little creature, one thing was constant in his mind.

He would always protect this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy with how this turned out! Lemme know your thoughts! Night! Lots of love


	28. Tangled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like Plagg. And I wanted to take a moment and say thank you everyone for your support! You guys comments is what keeps the writing flowing.

"How do we even end up in these kinds of situations, kitty?"

Ladybug knew that she didn't always have the best luck— irony at its best— but sometimes she was completely baffled by the idea that she could end up in this position.

There they were bound together by a normally, unbreakable rope, weaved especially for the two of them by a very nasty spider themed Akuma.

Yay, Hawkmoth was going after bug catchers now. Either that, or pet shop owners.

She was chest to chest with none other than Paris number one teen model, Adrien Agreste, yup that's right, not Chat Noir, no. Plagg decided to have a light breakfast this morning after watching a nature documentary on maternal cats. One would think the being made of pure destruction, could handle seeing some baby kittens being brought into the world but no.

Apparently not.

So, when Chat went to use his cataclysm, instead of a ball of antimatter forming from his palm, he let out a small poof of smoke before the Akuma wrapped them together to leave them literally hanging. On the bright side, nobody was around to see them.

On the not so bright side, they wound up in what appeared to be the only neighborhood without any cheese! So, with the blood rushing fast to her brain, all Ladybug could do was ponder the incredible life choices that lead her here.

But Adrien, ever the optimist, tried to ease her mind. He tried. Whether or not he succeeded was a whole other story. "It's not bad, bugaboo. Turn that frown upside down."

The rope began to shake violently as Ladybug flailed in frustrated anger. "Not bad? Kitty, the akuma is running wild terrorizing the whole city," At that, screams of terror shrilled even louder than before as she was sure other destructive things were going on caused by the akuma. "And we're here, waiting for Plagg to find his cheese so we can cataclysm the rope."

Said kwami could be heard zooming from house to house, raiding every place he thought cheese could be stored. "I'm doing the best I can here! I respect the lifestyle and all but is not one person in this block a devoted vegan?!"

Adrien shook himself to position his face to view the creature. "Either that or highly lactose intolerant."

"Not helping!"

With that, he zoomed into the last house he could find as Ladybug and Adrien heard a proud victory screech escape the nearby building.

"Did you find any?"

The little creature popped out of the building looking like a cat that just stumbled on a field of catnip. "This is… This is La Crème du Fromage. I have only had this cheese once in my entire life and I have spent over two centuries looking for it."

Ladybug smiled. "That's great Plagg, now hurry up and chow down."

"What!? No, one does not chow down on La Crème du Fromage. It is to be savored, admired, paired with the most savory of wines and given its creator the proper thanks for bringing such beauty into the world."

"Plagg, I've seen you devour a whole wheel of cheese in one gulp."

He glared before turning his back to her. "Sometimes I feel as though you don't take me seriously.."

Adrien and Ladybug shared a look for a brief second before she set her eyes back on him and tried to reason with the small cat. "Plagg, I'm sorry. I really am. I can't imagine how much that cheese means to you. But please, we really need to get out of this before people see Ladybug and Adrien together."

Looking down at his beauty, he knew what he had to do. Steeling himself he pulled back the wrapper as the age old aroma filled his tiny nostrils with the memory of his and Tikki's one-thousandth binding cycle.

He looked back at the two lovers chained together trying everything they could to escape.

Lifting up the cheese he closed his water filled eyes. "Here's to true love." Without hesitation, he placed the cheese in his mouth devouring it whole.

He knew as much as they did the dangers of people seeing their identities between superhero and civilian were, especially Ladybug and Adrien's side of the square. Out of all the sides, they tried to keep them at the most distance.

After a hearty battle belch, Plagg was recharged. Adrien quickly transformed and catalysmed the rope from within the bind, turning the thick threads of their entrapment into mere ash.

It also caused them to fall from a good distance onto the hard gravel road, but no one was around due to the chaos surrounding them, so they both counted that as a win. Back on their feet, they separated so Chat could quickly go find Plagg a rather less rare chunk of cheese and join Ladybug back in the fight as soon as possible.

"Oh, and Ladybug," She turned to see the sly cattish smirk that crossed his face "while the method wasn't the most comfortable, I'd get entangled with you again anytime."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, kitty."

* * *

After the battle had been won, they retreated to the tower to catch their breaths before they retired to his home for the night.

"Y'know." Ladybug drawled as she tiptoed closer to him, continuously shaking her weight from side to side. "You know how you said you enjoyed being entangled together in the ropes?"

Chat didn't know exactly why, but he gulped. He felt like he had to gulp, and he could do nothing to hold it back. Air was a little heavy in his chest at the moment. It was all too weighted as he forced out, a small, "Mhm?"

She moved just a bit closer. Smile in full force. She brought her lips inches from his, and he could feel her breath and oh gosh, he thought he actually might pass out.

"Well." Her words sounded innocent, but for some reason, he knew better. "I'd rather be entangled in your sheets."

Oh dang. Whoo. Was the air becoming thin? How high up were they? What day was it?

Then she did a complete one eighty and spun in the direction of his house. "First one there gets to pick the movie for the night," And she raced off.

It only took a second to unstiffen his bones that had become like steel in his own body. Once everything was awakened and he could actually move, he grabbed his baton and bounded off towards home.

He knew one thing for sure, no matter what, she was definitely entangled in his heart.

And he never wanted to break those attachments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Husband's thoughts:
> 
> Poor plagg and his cheese. Fun fact, neither my wife or I know any great cheese brands, so the brand of cheese Plagg loses his ever loving mind over is just the phrase the cream of the cheese translated into French. It's a little play on the famous phrase, the cream of the crop otherwise known as la crème de la crème.
> 
> See these husband's thoughts can be more than just jokes. Sometimes you get deep philosophical thoughts and fun facts.


	29. Matching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is almost the end. I'll miss this work so much, but I'm thankful that I was able to do it. I really hope you guys enjoy it!

A bright flash of light appeared once again out fo the sky as Alex jumped down, smacking the Akuma right on the head, causing it to pass out cold.

"Jitterbug, do your thing!" Bunix shouted as she kept her guard up around the passed out akuma.

Taking out her yoyo, Ladybug spun it around the beast as Chat prepared his cataclysm. This one was a bit more difficult than the others. Rather than the Akums victim being an everyday citizen, this person was a wanted criminal from the year 2539.

Yeah, seeing as the Lady-Chat combo had their hands full with criminals from this century, it wasn't a hard decision to give Alix a call. What was this guy after one might ask, well none other than their Miraculous, of course. Because even with having access to time travel, there were people willing to pay top dollar for a set of super power laced earings.

Crushing the small device on his wrist, the small butterfly popped out and was immediately purified by the same powers he came to steal.

With the spell washed away the man was holding on to gut in slight pain. "I don't feel so good." He let out, trying to hold back his lunch.

Alix ruffled his hair a bit before putting him in hand cuffs. "That's what you get for using this awful thing." She gestured to the crushed device on the ground.

"Those things are both cheap and nasty. So, do us both a favor and leave time travel to the professionals." With that, she opened a portal and dragged the criminal through to answer for his future crimes.

Kneeling to the ground, Chat couldn't help but examine the small device in front of him. "Hey, Lovebug. Do you think we should maybe sweep this up? I mean, if the right person finds this, it could alter the course of our future, or something."

Ladybug's nose scrunched in confusion at his logic. "What is somebody going to with a bunch of broken parts? If anything, we should clean it up so nobody cuts their foot on it."

He sent her a playful shrug. "Fair point. Now, let's get this crud picked… M'lady, did you drop you earings during the fight?"

She stood there in silence tapping her red and black spotted boot.

Realization dawned on him. "Once again, fair point. But… come here. There's a set of earings in the pile that look just like yours."

Walking over to her partner, Ladybug bent down to see two stud earrings completely identical to her own. "Maybe we should take them home with us, just to be sure it's not something weird."

Chat nodded as they leapt off, searching for a safe place to detransform.

* * *

The hatch to her room practically flew open as the two were too curious for their own good about the mystery earings they held in their hands. Pulling out her desk chair, the two placed the earings down to give them a heavy once over.

Adrien tapped a finger to his chin as he studied the familiar dark studs. "So, alternate timeline or cheap knock off?"

Marinette sent him a playful dirty look. "They could just be my earings from the future."

Adrien shot her back a smile of amusement. "Haven't you seen any sci-fi movies? Time travel's never that simple, princess. There is always something more to it."

Out of nowhere, Adrien felt a small tap on his head. "I think Marinette is right on this one Adrien."

Said boy looked up to see Tikki floating just above his head, and almost jumped back in surprise at the sudden kwami in his face. "Hgh, I didn't even see you pop out, Tikki."

Marinette's bag shifted as a tiny voice escaped the pouch. "That's because I didn't."

Sure enough, out came the little red kwami as the two Tikkis spiraled around each other in amusement.

Before Adrien could express his confusion Plagg scurried out of Adrien's shirt with a huge grin on his face. "Are there two Tikkis?" The little creature asked.

Marinette's eyes nearly fell out of her head at the sight of the two creatures. Her mouth unable to close, no matter how hard she tried to force it to. "I guess so."

Plagg pressed a paw up to his chest. "I think I can finally forgive you for the cheese."

Marinette nearly swatted him out of the air. "Plagg, I will get a spray bottle!"

The little creature let out a light his as he hovered away from the group.

Marinette brought her attention back to the two red kwamis floating above her boyfriend. "So, how did this happen?"

The little creature flew to her owner with a look of annoyance on her tiny face. "The criminal you stopped grabbed my Miraculous while you two were out on the town for your anniversary."

Marinette's face held a look of concern. "Why would we leave our Miraculous at home for that and for that matter, who was protecting Par-"

Adrien shook uncontrollably as he cut her sentence short. "Wedding anniversary, or when we started dating? Were there any kids nearby? Did we finally get that hamster named-"

"Not as important at the moment!" Marinette swiftly cut him off. "What is important is what we should do for the time being. This could be a very difficult situation if our future counterparts need their Ladybug."

The future Tikki raised her paw. "Actually, this has happened before, It takes about an hour for every year us kwami's are displaced, but our partner will eventually realize and retrieve us. So, seeing what year I'm from, I'd say we have a little over half a day before Alix comes to pick me up."

Marinette blinked in disbelief. "You sound like this happens every day!"

Future Tikki gave a careless roll of her tiny shoulders. "Well, not every day, usually just on your anniversaries and that one time you lost your gift for Adrien's birthday."

Marinette blinked. "Wow, I feel so irresponsible."

"Don't feel bad. Most of the time I go off on my own. This time it was just an accident."

Adrien took a moment to absorb the strange situation that was playing out before him. "So, what do we do for the time being?"

Tikki gave her shoulders a shrug once more. "Not sure, usually I just get asked questions about the future until Alix shows up to take me home."

Adrien scanned the room before he meekly raised his hands. "If it's okay with everyone here, may I try out the Ladybug Miraculous?"

At that, the future Tikki began to bouncing up and down in the air, clapping her little paws franticly. "Ooh, I've been waiting for this trip for years. I can't believe that this is finally the one!"

Marinette put up her finger for a moment of discussion but was cut off by her boyfriend screaming the all too famous lines, "Tikki, spots on!"

A whirl of light took hold of the room as Adrien was draped in a skin tight red suit with strong black highlights. Marinette let out a sigh of defeat. "Well, down the rabbit hole. Tikki, spots on!"

The two hopped out the upper hatch and swung into the afternoon glow of the city.

Looking at his face, Marinette was hard pressed to find a time she had ever seen him this happy. He seemed loose with his movements and she knew it wasn't the suit doing that to him. He sent her a smile. "First one to the tower has to pay for Andre's tomorrow." Without a moment's notice, he pulled back his yoyo, launching him forward and nearly out of sight.

Ladybug shook her head at the sight of her boyfriend whooping into the evening air like a child lost in a candy store. "That bug is going to be the end of me." Not to be left in the dust, Ladybug kicked it into high gear, making sure to pull back just a little to make the game fun.

* * *

Before long, they arrived at the tower with Adrien losing the race by only a couple seconds.

Catching her breath, Ladybug rested herself just slightly over the edge of the tower as her matching partner did the same."So, Mr. Bug, what was that all about?"

"This, this is amazing. The feel of it is just ecstatic."

She could hear the smile in his voice even without seeing it. "What are you talking about Hot stuff? You've been a hero for as long as I have. How is this any different?"

She turned just enough to see him observing the features of his costume. "I love being Chat, I really do. But this." he gestured to his new suit, "Nobody has seen this before. If I were to walk down the street as, what did you call it, Mr. Bug, Nobody would crowd me, ask me if we're dating. It'd be a fresh start, without any of the worry or drama we had when we first fell in love. We could actually not have to worry."

Ladybug let out a deep sigh. "So that's why you were so eager to try out Ladybug's powers?"

He nodded, turning his head away from her line of sight.

But she could still see the gloss sheen of tears over his eyes. "Kitty, no matter what, people will eventually start to notice you. Even if we started to date as Mr. Bug and Ladybug, you would gain fans, popularity. We wouldn't be able to hide forever, people would find out we're dating. And that would mean I would have to break up with Chat, and I'm sorry, but one 'break up' was enough. This is the life of a superhero. We can't escape it, even when it's tempting. Because we chose this life."

He lowered his head in shame. "I know."

Her finger went under his chin, bring his eyes back up to her with a soft touch. "Adrien, it doesn't matter what happened back then, or what happens in our future. We'll always be there for each other. It doesn't matter to me about the press or the fans. We have each other and at the end of the day, that's what counts. And trust me, I wish I could give you that freedom at times, I would like it myself honestly, but...we can't. Plus, if I'm being entirely honest, if it wasn't for the constant pressure, I don't think we would be where we are now, at least not to this extent. And, I don't know where I'd be without my kitty— my balance."

Before he could get out a response, a portal opened up behind them as Alix did her best to traverse the beams. "So, I might have forgotten something and— oh he's Mr. Bug right now."

He stood up as Ladybug followed suit. "Tikki, spots off."

The future Tikki spiraled around Adrien, leaving him with a bittersweet smile.

Alix pursed her lips in amusement as she swayed in small waves from side to side. "So, seeing as he's in his civilian form, I figured you two finally got this," She gestured her fingers into the shape of a square, "taken care of?"

His smile began to widen ever so slightly and it warmed Ladybug's heart just a touch at seeing his smile once more. "Yeah, it's more like," He made a straight path with his fingers, "now."

Bunix nodded, seeming to find satisfaction in that answer. "Well good, because that crap was really starting to get old."

"Wait a moment!" Ladybug shouted. She looked between her boyfriend and friend, mulling things over in her head before sighing and giving in. She just wanted him to have that freedom he so desperately craved. "Are you sure you're okay with this. I know future me has to get Tikki back eventually but Alix is a time traveler. Meaning, we can have her be with us for at least a little longer. You could finally breath a sigh of relief for a bit as somebody nobody is looking for."

Adrien let out a small sigh of his own, moving to take her hand in his own. "Something tells me that's not how things are supposed to go. But more importantly, that's not how I want them to go." He took off the earrings and handed them over to Alix. "Yeah, my life isn't easy being two of the most popular people in Paris but over all those years, I've gained friends and family that I couldn't bear to live without, and it was being both Adrien and Chat that got me those friends. So, for now, Lovebug, I think we're just going to have to stick to matching sweaters for the time being. Because I'm purrfectly happy as who I am."

Ladybug smiled, leaning up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Good." She dropped back to her feet, smiling at everything going back into place. "And hey, at least future me didn't seem to need her earrings."

Alix nodded, muttering out a relieved, "Right?" before she whipped around to the portal again, just about to jump in, only for all three people to have their eardrums pierced from the other side of the portal.

The couple looked to Bunix for an explanation, and were absolutely terrified to see her biting her lip in worry and shame. "Sorry."

The couple glanced at each other in confusion. "What for?" they ask in unison.

An explosion goes off behind Alix as she winced. "For ruining your anniversary, in…. 15 years."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you tomorrow for the very last day of Ladrien month! All the support you guys have given has helped so much along the way!
> 
> Husbands thoughts:
> 
> As Ladybug and Chat Noir leave the scene of battle, Gabreil's assistant arrives on the scene. Her bluetooth headset giving her clear instructions. "Get those components. If I can't beat those two not I can simply go back and rewrite my past mistakes." A smile creeps onto her face as they're victory is almost within reach. Looking to the spot where the device was broken she sees nothing. "What the-" A loud cooing noise could be heard in the distance. "Don't you worry my pidgie friends. I'll make a new nest for you in no time!"
> 
> Husband's Alternate Ending:
> 
> "Because I'm purrfectly happy with who I am."
> 
> Alex snatches the earings from Adreins hands.
> 
> "It was cute and you ruined it." She raises her middle finger before trust falling into the portal never to be seen again.


	30. Pairs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the bittersweet goodbyes, but it had to come someday.
> 
> I hope to see you all in Ladynoir July.

Paris. A place made for people to fall in love with. Ladybug knew this most of all; at the tender age of nineteen, she had seen a lot, been through a lot, and done a lot in her short time on the planet.

But she wasn't alone in it all, and for that, she was grateful. She was grateful for her partner, for her family and friends, and for the peaceful city that she resided in.

As the years had turned, Hawkmoth had become less and less of an actual threat and then one day, just… disappeared without a trace. Both heroes kept glancing over their shoulders for weeks on end. But a month later, the butterfly and peacock miraculous mysteriously ended up on Master Fu's front doorstep and that was that. The weight on their shoulders was finally lifted.

Even with no immediate threat, Master Fu intrusted them with keeping their miraculous, and eventually, the Miracle box itself. Saying he wouldn't be around forever, and sadly, he had been right. He had passed peacefully only a few months later.

Ladybug would never admit it, but she never liked the perfectly matched time with Adrien's father actually building a relationship with his son, and Hawkmoth disappearing. It all lined up too well. But she didn't want to connect the two, and simply decided not to. As long as Hawkmoth stayed gone, then she would let everything be.

Seeing him happy, and having an actual relationship with his father, she could see a certain light in Adrien's eyes that she hardly ever saw. Who was she to take that away?

She felt guilty every now and then, sure, but she made her decision, and she was content with it.

She was happy, both she and Adrien were happy, and she just wanted it to stay that way. This, looking down at the vast city that they lived in, this was all she could ever want.

Being Ladybug had always come with its challengings, but over the years, as she grew into her role, finding that she loved it— and even more, the place she was called to protect.

As she and her partner were cuddled on top of the tower, with her head nuzzled in the crook of his neck. The city lights below provided enough warmth— even with how high up they were— to fight back the nippy nighttime winter air. The warm arm curled around her waist also brought its protection from the weather.

"Bugaboo." Her boyfriend's voice called, drawing her out of her thoughts. "What's playing on that beautiful mind of yours?"

She gave an airy laugh and snuggled closer. "Everything. How far we've come, what the future has in store for us. Just everything."

She felt his chest vibrate, from a pur or laughter, she wasn't quite sure, but it was contagious in the way the sound was just happy. Giddy, ecstatic, whatever one wanted to call it, and it was something she just wanted to soak up for the rest of her life.

"Actually," her partner drawled in a low tone that made her almost sleepy mood perk up." I wanted to know if you wanted to have a little race?"

That caused her to pull back from his sweet embrace and look at him with curiosity. "What? You wanna race now? I figured we'd be going home soon."

He shrugged, his emerald eyes holding something top secret within his iris, but she couldn't tell what exactly, but she could definitely see mischief dancing around in there. "I mean… if you're not up for the challenge…." He trailed off with a tease, the all too familiar smirk just daring her to take a chance.

She sighed, reluctantly giving in. "Okay, kitty. What'd you got?"

His grin was bigger than the city itself. "You know the rooftop where you first kissed me on? I heard there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight and that's the best seat in town. If I win, we have to stay out there all night and watch. If you win, we leave whenever you want to. But we gotta hurry, it'll be starting soon. Look to the west."

"Okay." She smiled and scrambled to her feet, Chat doing the same. She looked to him as she positioned herself into a running stretch. "On three?"

He nodded.

"Okay. One….Two….three."

On the last count, they took off, like bullets shooting from a gun.

She took the lead, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the wind practically slapping her face as she fought against its opposing direction of her route. The silence in the air was calming, and it was only broken by the sounds of the man child behind her, yelling out his excitement every now and then.

When her feet touched the ground— declaring her the winner, of course— her eyes immediately sought out the sky, locating the point of the meteor shower that should soon start if her boyfriend was right.

"Okay, hot stuff. Now where is this-"

She stopped mid sentence as she turned and saw something that immediately caused her heart to almost burst.

Because there, down on one knee with an open box and a ring nestled in it, was none other than Adrien Agreste. Her Adrien. Lacking his usual Chat Noir confidence and shaking like a leaf, but still hers.

His eyes were drowning in nerves, and if she looked hard enough, she could see the slight tremble in his lip and the shakiness in his hands, not to mention the little sweat that accumulated around his forehead, but he held firm in his actions.

The air was suddenly all too thin and she thought her lungs might actually collapse in her chest. Maybe she would pass out and fall off the side of the roof and Tikki might not realize that she was falling and detransform to see why her heart was beating so rapidly out of her chest and then-

Stop. Said a voice inside her head that sounded all too much like Tikki's.

Okay, okay, breathe.

At one point, Adrien still hadn't said anything, and she thought maybe he was gonna pass out.

But then, he spoke, his tone weak, but fully tender. "Marinette Dupain Cheng. This rooftop holds a lot for us. This.. this is where we first started, where everything first started. We didn't have the easiest love story," A little dry laugh escaped his lips. "But we have one of the most real ones. We were both so stubborn, dancing around each other the way we did, but in the end, we found each other. I continue to fall in love with you each and everyday— and in ways, I didn't expect to."

She cupped her hands to her mouth, letting the tears flow from her eyes, and he paused to catch his breath. She detransformed to drop to her knees in front of him, pressing her forehead against his.

He pressed on. "We've had so many obstacles thrown at us, but I'm thankful I had you by my side through it all. You are, without a doubt, my partner, the ying to my yang. My other half. My balance. Everything that I am is because you are apart of it, you're my home. Someone I find comfort, warmth, security, and everything in. So…" His tongue ran the length of his bottom lip as his eyes locked onto hers and raised the ring box closer. "Will you marry me?"

She threw her arms around his neck, smashing her lips against his and kissing him for all that she was worth, with everything that she had within her. She hardly pulled back an inch to answer him in a whisper.

"Yes."

* * *

"Good morning, France! This is Alya Lahiffe, here with the best update of the decade. Late last night, at 22:00, the Agreste fashion line officially has a new little heir to the throne! That's right, folks, you heard it here first. Adrien and Marinette Agreste have welcomed little Emma Agreste into the world. Both mother and child are doing wonderfully and are resting well." 

She turned her camera to show the two parents fawning over the child being held in Gabriel's arms. Both smiling so heavily, that even though she couldn't hear it, Alya knew the whole city was lost at the cuteness of the newborn firmly grasping her grandfather's finger.

Turning the camera back to her, Alya cooed. "Isn't she the cutest little baby to have ever been born? I'm one proud aunt. Watch out, Paris. You're gonna have one heartbreaker on your hands."

"Hey!"

She shushed the new father. "Oh, shush, sunshine. No worries, I'm sure Ladybug and Chat Noir'll protect her. The most famous fashion designer's daughter and the most famous superheros, together, Pairs better know who the city belongs to." She turned to wink at the new parents, making sure to keep her face out of the shot. She turned back to her device. "Poor city will be under Emma's little pinkie in no time."

"Anyways, Ladybloggers. I think that's my cue to go. I need some extra snuggle time with my new favorite girl."

She moved, and stretched out her phone so that Chloe, Nino, Marinette, and everyone could be seen in the shot. "Until next time, citizens of Pairs. Bug out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Husbands thoughts:  
> I'm not crying, you're crying. Shut up! If Terry Cruise can full on man cry than so can I.
> 
> I'm both worried about my husband, and proud that I could do that to him. 
> 
> \-------------------------------------  
> Thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart. All the support, love, and revies this story has received is everything-- I don't think I could ever tell you how much it all means. Lots of love! Until next time!


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